Halo: If I were your Hero
by soulguard
Summary: Book 2: The Mysteries of the Halo Universe collide in this tale. Join Eric Raynord, Rose Santos and Wesley Williams as they learn secrets of ONI and the mysterious Halo ring worlds. Familiar faces return in Book 2 of the trilogy.
1. Somethings at the door

**_If I were your Hero_**

By Soulguard

**Stage 1: Something's at the door…**

PCI Industries Repair Center  
08:45 October 20, 2552  
New Mombasa, Kenya

"You're late, Eric!" A sharply dressed woman shouted at the main entrance. Her hair was cut short, her nails glowed brightly red and her matching black DuTan dress suit gave her a powerful presence. She tapped her finger on the wall of the door, blocking the black man's entrance. She was a gorgeously shaped woman with long legs, tight hips and a well toned upper body. Her butt and breasts weren't bad either. "Stop staring at my chest Eric, and tell me why you're late, again!"

Eric couldn't help staring at her chest. The diving neckline on her suit practically begged him to glare at the top of her cleavage, and the fact that she didn't cover up only made him more interested. She was a Spanish woman with a full blown American attitude; meaning she was quick witted, hot headed, fast paced, and always on her toes. An attractive woman but not Eric's type, but still she was damned attractive.

"Eric!" The woman stated strongly.

"Sorry." Eric replied. Eric waved his hand near the door and a green light signaled that he was cleared to enter. "I overslept."

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately." The woman responded. The two began to walk down the hall to an elevator. The hallway was quiet, and only a few janitorial staff personal walked the halls. "I know it's asking a lot of you to come in early, but with the Covenant threatening to find Earth the Military has been pushing our buttons hard."

"You look nice this morning, Rose." Eric added, ignoring the work talk that Rose was tossing around. Rose was quiet for a second and folded her arms across her chest as they stopped in front of the elevator.

"Also," she continued, "they've requested a double order on the Mark VI armor plating. I called Tokyo and they sent the parts this morning, local time. We should have it by noon."

"Always work with you, isn't Rose?" Eric questioned. He stuck his hands into his pockets and stared deeply into his mirrored reflection on the elevator door. His age was quickly catching up with him. He noticed a grey hair in his mustache and then counted three more. He was in mid thirties and in no way felt old, but he was finding it harder and harder to run ten miles without stopping; something he could have easily done ten years ago.

"We aren't in college anymore, Eric." Rose replied. "We have a job to do, and there is a war going on, remember?"

"Yeah, I know." Eric sighed. He lowered his head and ran his hand through his black curly hair. He needed a hair cut but hadn't had the time. "Have you been into the lab yet?"

"No, I hate being in there alone." Rose responded. The elevator door opened and they stepped in. Eric pressed his hand onto the controls and a green button appeared at the bottom of the elevator's control display. He pressed the secret button and the elevator quickly began its long run into the depths of New Mombasa.

Rose sat on a nearby bench and crossed her legs. She delicately began to play with her nails, not giving Eric any attention at all. It was a long and quiet journey. Rose sat to one side of the elevator while Eric leaned against the wall of the other. Eric couldn't help but look at her. She was a year younger then he was, but she hadn't changed since he first met her in their freshman class so many years ago. The only sign of age she ever displayed was that she wore a simple pair of glasses in order to read. Eric was startled out of his gaze by a quick burst of static from the elevator's speakers.

"Please hold for ID check." Said the voice over the speakers. The elevator came to a slow stop and the ID pad on the elevator's control panel suddenly turned red. "You first, Lieutenant Raynord." Eric stepped to the control and firmly pressed his hand against the plate, and the ID screen changed to green.

"You're next, Ms. Santos." Rose stepped over with a quick sigh, and repeated the gesture. The ID screen quickly flashed blue twice, then a solid Green. "Okay. All elevator parties have been identified for first security check; Lieutenant Eric Raynord and project leader Ms. Rose Santos. Door's opening."

Beyond the Elevator door was a long tunnel which was well lit on all sides. Only one door was ahead of them, and that was their office. But in front of that door stood three Marines dressed in formal attire, and each had a BR55 Battle Rifle slung over their shoulders. As Eric and Rose stepped out of the Elevator the three soldiers quickly pulled down their guns and took aim.

"Come on guys, is that really necessary?" Eric questioned. The soldiers remained silent. ONI took no chances of a military breach within their security, and until the two had finalized their ID check they would be watched closely. These soldiers had full authority to shoot anyone, if they so much as sneezed oddly.

"Beginning secondary bio-scans." A voice stated over the hallway intercom. "Please stand still." The elevator door behind Eric and Rose closed, and the faint hum of machinery was heard behind the walls. "Body scans complete. All's clear."

"Sorry Sir, we have our orders." One of the soldiers stated. The Three soldiers quickly saluted Eric and he quickly returned the gesture loosely. "How are you today, Ms. Santos?"

"Please call me Rose, or Doctor." Rose stated as they began to walk toward the entrance. "We go through this every morning, but every morning you call me Ms. Santos… I'm not that old, Wesley."

"Sorry Rose." Wesley stated. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and handed Eric a data pad. "It's all the training." The door behind the Marines opened and a dark room lay beyond.

"Sure, training." Rose stated as she crossed the threshold to the room. Eric smiled at Wesley and nodded his head with a quick smirk. He waved the data pad and followed Rose into the room as the door closed behind them.

"Damn that's a woman." Wesley stated to the other two soldiers at his side.

"Yeah, and every morning she dreads seeing you." The soldiers laughed.

The underground facility was another of the Office of Naval Intelligence's secret research facilities; however it was a smaller one. Inside the dark room were several more marines, dressed in semi-formal attire and sitting at desks. The security chief sat a desk with several monitors displaying the hallway, the exterior of the above ground building and several other entryways inside the facility.

Rose and Eric walked throughout the mazes of doors and cubicles until they reached their destination. They each placed their hands on the sides of the door and a green light flashed above them. The Titanium-A door hissed with life as it slid open. Nearly six inches of the metal separated the ONI research lab from the rest of the facility. Rose and Eric walked in before it completely opened. They approach a glass wall that overlooked the lab and reached for their lab coats.

"Feels like I just left here." Eric sighed. Rose stood in shock as she looked the room over. All the parts that they had left unassembled had been completed.

"What the hell?" Rose stated in a shocked tone. She quickly pulled on her white over coat, and hopped down a small step of stairs into the research lab below. Eager to see what had happened she jogged to a nearby table which was covered in parts. "Who finished these?"

"Two guesses." Eric laughed from above.

"But you said you were going to leave last night, right after I left." Rose added with a curious gaze.

"Yeah, well, I didn't." Eric smiled, as he slowly began to walk down the stairs. "It's not like I have a life outside this place. I grabbed a bite to eat, but came back and finished up."

"That's why you overslept." Rose stated as she looked over the MJOLNIR Mark VI arm guard. "Final assembly was supposed to be done today for those other three Spartans. These small system upgrades should…" She stopped in mid sentence and looked up at Eric. "Sorry. Thanks for doing this Eric."

"Does this mean I can go home?" Eric laughed. Rose shot him an awkward gaze and sighed.

"For a Marine, you sure don't act it." Rose smiled. "It's reassuring that you haven't changed much. I guess the Military couldn't break your spirit."

"They tried." Eric responded. He then realized that they had been working together for nearly two weeks, and had yet to really talk.

"We can take it easy until those parts from Tokyo get here." Rose stated as she put the arm guard on the table. She walked toward Eric and sat at an adjacent desk. "I still can't believe you finished all six. What do we do with our time now?" Rose stated as she slouched into her chair.

"Those ONI suits will get here for another ten minutes, so we could make out?" Eric grinned.

"It didn't work in college, it won't work now." Rose laughed in return. She felt comfortable around Eric and it reminded her of old times, like when they first met in college.

"Thought not." Eric sighed. "Well, I know the frequency for the Award ceremony aboard Cairo Station. We can check that out."

"I guess so." Rose sighed. "At least we get to see what the full Mark VI looks like."

Eric walked over to his computer and typed in his password and Personal Identification Number. The screen flashed to life and he quickly connected his chatter to the computer. After a few key strokes the screen flickered to life and the command deck of Cairo station appeared on screen.

"Guess we're early." Rose stated. "Oh, there's the Spartan and fleet admiral what's his face. Do you know the others?"

"The woman, no, but the black guy I know all to well." Eric grinned with a soft chuckle. "Avery Johnson. He was my bunkmate for a while, before he was shipped off to Paris IV. We lost touch after that, but he was sick for awhile after that. Last I heard he was assigned to the Pillar of Autumn. Looks like he's a Sergeant Major now, still on the front lines, I see." Eric paused and looked the screen over. "Looks like they're finishing up, but something's wrong."

"Wait, they're all leaving." Rose stated with a sigh. "I couldn't see the armor that well. Can you follow the Spartan?" Eric typed in more commands and the camera switched to the outer door of the command deck. "There he is, with my beautiful arm bands. We programmed the entire weaponry database for those, and every gun he grabs will instantly be uploaded to his HUD. But I wish he could get these upgrades we made, their much faster with the data transfer…" But something caught Rose's eye, something that she wish she hadn't seen. "Why is he picking up a gun? Why are they all arming themselves?"

"Oh God." Eric gasped. "They're setting a defensive perimeter around the command deck."

Rose gripped Eric's shoulder tightly as she leaned closer to the screen. She didn't know what his military gibberish meant, but she knew what battle prep looked like. Each soldier was positioning around the Spartan and taking cover. She could see the eagerness and fear in their eyes. Suddenly there was a knock at the office door and Rose was startled. She grabbed her heart and exhaled. She reached for the door controls and the massive door opened. One of the security officers yelled into the room.

"The global defense grid is hot!" The soldier yelled. "The global warning alarm is sounding above ground! It's the covenant, they're here!"

"Rose!" Eric screamed as he watched in terror as several small creatures burst into the room where the Spartan and the soldiers were. Rose quickly turned back to Eric's side as the guard ran down the stairs toward Eric's desk. They all watched as the Marines cut down the first wave of grunts but then several larger creatures followed. "Elites." Eric mumbled. He watched as the chief, surgical took down the towering aliens and then signaled for the marines to advance. Eric turned off the connection and lowered his head. His eyes were wide with horror. The covenant had found their home, they had found Earth.

"Where was that?" The guard asked, in a terrified tone. "Was that here? Oh God, oh God I don't want to die!"

"Relax." Eric shouted. "That was onboard the Cairo; one of our Orbital Defense Mac stations."

"How did you get that transmission?" Rose asked. "I'm sure they would have turned off any public broadcasts once the covenant arrived."

"All soldiers know the video frequencies onboard stations." Eric replied. "It's the only way to watch any good TV while in space."

"So you hacked in?" Rose questioned sarcastically; already knowing the answer. "What should we do?"

"Nothing." Eric replied. "We hope that the UNSC can hold them off, otherwise things may get messy." A sudden beep caught everyone's ear. It was coming from Rose's personal Chatter. She reached into her pocket and walked away from the group, talking softly into it.

"Sir, I'll go back to my desk." The guard stated.

"Tell the Marines to stay sharp." Eric stated to the Guard. "I'll notify ONI for support here. Things may repeat as it did on Reach."

"Sir?" The guard questioned, curious as to what Eric meant.

"Nothing, get to your post." Eric sat at his desk and picked up his Chatter. He thumbed through the interface until he saw a familiar set of numbers. He entered the numbers and a deep male voice echoed into his speaker.

"Lieutenant Raynord, I guess you've heard the news." The voice stated.

"Yes Sir, I've secured this channel." Eric softly spoke into the chatter. "This is much sooner then we planned. I thought the Spartans slowed them down?"

"We knew the Master Chief and his squad did some damage, but nothing was set in stone. We have no clear knowledge of the full size of the covenant's fleet."

"I understand, Sir." Eric replied doubtfully. "How goes the fight up there?"

"A covenant ship got through." The voice stated. "Something's not right about this attack. This isn't a full scale assault, so I believe that they are searching for it. I've ordered several Marine details to your facility underground. The ONI Officials that are usually there with you will be picked up and carried away. I'm glad you got to work early today. I'm leaving you in charge to protect the artifact. Be advised Lieutenant, their coming directly at you."

"They'll kill me before they get the artifact, Sir." Eric replied. The chatter went quiet and Eric stood up. He turned and Rose was standing practically on top of him.

"What did he mean they're coming directly at you?" Rose questioned.

"That box that those ONI guys have been toying with over the past few days." Eric stated as he pointed to the far side of the room. "There's a artifact in it, some form of Forerunner Technology for all I know, but Section 3 may know more. Anyway, the Covenant is coming for it."

"Here?" Rose tearfully questioned. Eric looked at her, puzzled at the terror on her face. He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out his side arm; a M6C Magnum. He dropped a clip into the handle and primed the chamber, cocking it smoothly, and then quickly tripped the safety as he slid it into the holster on his back. He had never seen Rose afraid of anything. She was an athlete in college, a fearless boardroom debater, and had faced off against some of the most hated Admiral's within the UNSC, but now she was terrified. "I have to go… I … I got to get out of here!"

Rose quickly stormed up the stairs and exited the room; Eric was following closely, pondering on how to calm her. She reached the security desk was stopped by the ghostly white face of the security chief. He was in horrific shock as he grabbed Rose and held her at bay. He was sweating horribly, a cold sweet, and Eric could tell that something was wrong.

"You can't leave, Doctor." The guard stated in a nervous stutter. "The Marines have set up defenses upstairs and they're coming down the Elevator now. They said that the Covenant Carrier just stopped above us, directly above us." The guard looked like he wanted to vomit and pass out.

"Rose, come here." Eric stated. He grabbed her by the arm and looked into her eyes; she looked like she wanted to scream but couldn't. "If you want to die, do nothing, but I know you better then that. We have some of the best equipment in the world at our fingertips, and I'm going to show you how to use it. First up the BR55 Battle rifle, she's got a kick but I know you can handle it."

"I don't want to fight, Eric." Rose stated as Eric unlocked the weapons closet. He ignored her as he proceeded to put the heavy metal into her arms.

"When you load it, give it a good slap, pull back the hammer to prime it and you're good to go." Eric stated as he pointed to the various points on the rifle. "The counter displays your ammo, when it drops below ten you need to duck and reload. Only keep shooting if absolutely necessary. The worst thing you can do is run out of ammo in the middle of a firefight. That last click can be heard by those Elite bastards, and they'll know to charge you."

"I don't want to fight, Eric!" Rose shouted tearfully. She dropped the gun and fell to her knees; sobbing uncontrollably. The guards wasted no time raiding the locker and passing out the weapons and armor amongst themselves. Eric leaned over and placed his hands on her shoulder.

"Then I guess you want to die." Eric stated. "Because I know you don't want me to try and protect you. That would put you in my debt, and I have to make you sleep with me to repay that debt." Rose looked up and cocked her head to the side. She was astonished that he could joke at a time like this. "So what's it going to be, beautiful? You want to learn to shoot, or do you want to sleep with me when this is all over?" Rose slowly stood up, cradling the bulk of the rifle in her arms.

"What do I do?" She sobbingly asked. She fought back the tears but couldn't stop them from flowing.

"Damn, you really don't want me, do you?" Eric laughed.

"Contacts, multiple covenant contacts inbound!" The shout came from the security guards desk and everyone ran over to see the battle that was raging overhead. Marines were firing heavily at the Covenant assault group that was bearing down on them. The exit to the building was being flooded with plasma and rifle fire. Eric pressed the com button.

"Wesley, open the door and get the turret guns online." Eric stated to the young Marine in the hallway. "Once all of our support troops get down here, shut the Elevator down, and set it with a charge. Blow the hell out of it. Nothing gets down the elevator shaft. You get me?"

"Roger that, Sir!" Wesley stated.

The tunnel was filling with Marines and Wesley quickly appointed them to their positions. The door into the ONI facility opened and Wesley spotted Eric and Rose standing at the security desk. He could see the terror on the Rose's face, and understood her fear. She was a civilian and never trained for combat. The one thing a soldier knew was that you fed off your fear, and let it motivate you to survive. Flight of Fear is what they called it, and marines were trained to harness it. It would sharpen their senses, make them focus harder and sharper, and in some cases make them dull to pain and injury. He knew that the feeling was most likely overwhelming Rose.

"Okay maggots, let's do this. Get inside the main facility and hunker down, this tunnel is the only way in from the building upstairs. Joe, take some troops and secure the back door, it's our only escape route, but I don't think the Covenant know about it. I want GP turret guns in this tunnel and hard shell'em. Get some bunkers out here. There's some bugs at the door and they aren't coming in, move, move, move!"

Eric turned to Rose and smiled; "Let's show you how to shoot."

To be continued…


	2. Guns, grenades, sharp sticks… a shiny cr...

**Stage 2: Guns, grenades, sharp sticks… a shiny crystal thing**

PCI Industries Repair Center10:23  
October 20, 2552  
New Mombasa, Kenya

The weapons locker door opened and Rose appeared from inside. It wasn't the best dressing room, but it was sufficient. Dressed in black fatigues and battle armor, Rose continued to dry her eyes as the soldiers and guards around her patiently waited for the battle to come to them. The ODST modified battle armor was clunky and Rose was having a hard time adjusting it properly. She had spent the past ten minutes fighting with the belts and straps while she was in the weapons closet. She had thought about letting Eric help her dress into the armor, but chose to wing it on her own. Rose scanned the room with her eyes and tried to find Eric, but she couldn't find him.

"Is he in the lab?" Rose questioned to herself. A marine dressed in grey fatigues approached her and began to grip several of her belts; tightening them. Rose felt a little concerned, she had no idea as to who the man was, but it soon dawned on her. "Eric?"

Rose had never seen Eric in his fatigues, and he didn't look like his normal casual self. Eric now appeared massive in build and strength. His shoulders seemed to expand with every breath, and his face displayed no emotion.

"How's that?" Eric asked as he adjusted one last clamp on the armor. Strangely, Rose felt comfortable. The suit seemed to hug her every curve and the armor was lighter then she thought.

"It's okay." Rose softly stated. "Why is my suit different then yours?"

"I'm a marine." Eric stated. "You're a civilian. I have to maintain the uniform of my regiment, but you don't. The ODST armor is made of a denser material, which can absorb more plasma fire. It's heavier then mine but you won't be facing direct combat; if I can help it."

"LT, incoming info on the box!" Wesley yelled across the desk. "Topside reports that it's getting heavy up there!"

"Roger that Private!" Eric responded. "Rose, stay near the Lab no matter what happens from this point on. If I tell you to close the door, get in the lab and seal it. Lock yourself in and hide. I'm not going to lie to you… they are going to get down here. We weren't ready for a head on assault. Just do like I told you; point the gun, squeeze the trigger, and stay low. We'll do the rest." Eric walked away from Rose and double timed it to the security desk

Rose wished that Eric would have given her some comforting words, but what he said was the truth. The covenant would come and they would kill them all. So many other worlds had fallen to the ruthless aliens and now it was Earth's time to die. She walked to the lab door and sat down just inside the threshold. She loaded the BR55 rifle with a clip and slapped it in tight. She pressed the clip-release and the ammo fell out and into her hand. She then slapped the clip back into the rifle and repeated the steps. Over and over again she repeated what Eric had taught her, and she wasn't going to stop until the battle started or the gun broke. She wasn't ready to die. A tear began to swell in her eyes but she forced it back.

"Say again Sergeant…" Eric shouted into the microphone.

"Damn it Raynord, you haven't lost your hearing yet." Sergeant Johnson shouted over the channel. "You must be putting up one hell of fight over there, the covenant just dropped off a Scarab and it's making its way across town toward you! Commander Keys has me airlifting artillery and babysitting the air-boys. I just left the Master Chief and Cortana at the Bridge to try and slow that damned Scarab down. Once I'm done babysitting, me and my boys will come and set up a blockade at the city water center. It's about two blocks from your location, but that Scarab has to go through there to get to you. But be advised, that Carrier above you is carrying a Prophet, so there's no telling what they're planning."

"A Prophet?" Eric questioned.

"Stop repeating me." Johnson retorted. "So why in the hell is your building so important?"

"Can't say Sergeant." Eric replied cautiously. "Just know that it is important that we hold our ground."

"Roger that Lieutenant, ONI never shares anything." Johnson chuckled.

"Give them hell, Sergeant." Eric replied with a chuckle. The channel went quiet and things became even more complicated knowing that a Prophet was on board the Covenant Carrier. Something wasn't felling right about this and Eric felt a cold shiver tingle up his spine.

"What now, Sir?" Wesley asked. The marines all turned and looked to Eric, waiting for a response.

"The covenant is pulling back!" The shout cut across the security desk speaker and the marines nearly broke into cheers. "Their forces are pulling out of the building… think… we…" The video feed and the sound became choppy, and eventually faded.

"Damn!" Eric muttered. He knew his senses were correct. The prophet sent out a Scarab to draw away most of the fighting. Eric had already figured out the covenants tactics. The Scarab tank was only a diversion, in order to draw away most of the Marine support troops that were inbound. That Prophet was trying to buy himself some time. It had worked flawlessly. The covenant had just pulverized the building with plasma fire from the Carrier. Communications were down and there was no way to alert Sergeant Johnson that the tank was merely a decoy. What looked like a retreat was simply the covenant's way of clearing space. The underground facility began to rumble and soon the lights cut out. An explosive groan of metal and rock began to echo throughout the darkened facility. Marines lost their balance and stumbled loosely about the room. Eric staggered in the dark toward the Lab door and reached out until he found Rose.

"Eric!" Rose shouted into the dark.

"Hang on!" Eric replied. The emergency lights turned on but the room continued to shake. For two minutes it didn't stop but suddenly everything became calm.

"What the hell was that?" A marine shouted in the dust filled front hallway. The emergency lights created an eerie atmosphere as silhouettes of Marines walked about assisting each other to their feet.

"Wesley report?" Eric shouted. He stood to his feet and walked to the lab door, leaving Rose cowering in a corner. He verified that the lab's thick Titanium-A doors were still functioning and continued walking to the front.

"All heads still attached, sir." Wesley sharply replied. "What was that?"

"A bad sign." Eric mumbled. "It's about to get hot in here. Lock and load marines!" The marines all hustled to their positions and loaded their weapons. The grind of metal against metal echoed throughout the rooms and the front hall. Two .30 caliber GP turrets were stationed at the security desk, ready to lay waste to anything that came into the elevator hallway.

"I've got multiple targets!" Wesley shouted to the marines as he looked over the security stations motion tracker. "Their coming down the elevator shaft… they're freaking floating down!" The marines began to mumble as nerves began to become tense.

"A gravity lift?" A marine muttered. "We're so screwed."

"I didn't give you permission to cry, marine." Eric shouted. He looked over his shoulder and stared at Rose. She was doing exactly as he told her; lying prone on the ground, her gun aimed and ready while still sitting inside the lab door, nearly thirty feet behind the marines.

"Torches on the door!" A marine shouted as sparks began spitting from the elevator door. The sparks stopped and the marines hunkered down, as they all took aim at the singed metal doors of the elevator. There was a loud thud on the, followed by another and another.

"Nobody's home, you bastards!" Wesley shouted. The elevator doors finally gave and the shiny blue armor of a Hunter barreled into the hallway. The massive hulk created a ghostly shape in the dimly lit corridor, as it barely was able to walk down the hall.

"Mow the field!" Eric shouted. A roar of shells filled the tunnel as the Marines let loose with everything they had. The Hunter ducked behind his shield and raised his cannon. Eric new the bullets from their guns wouldn't be enough but one of the .30 cal shells managed to find a soft spot in the Hunters defense. The Hunter roared in pain as the hot lead pierced his mid section and exploded out of its back. The creature lowered its guard, making itself an easy target. The marines quickly brought down the massive beast. Another hunter quickly stepped into view but his weapon was already hot and primed to fire.

"Damn it!" Eric thought to himself. He dropped to a knee and ripped a grenade from his belt. He then smoothly popped the pin and tossed it down the hall. It detonated in front of the Hunter and the beast reared back, stunned. "Lay into that hunter!" The .30 cal turned and spewed lead into the soft tissue of the Hunter, dropping it to the ground with a massive thud. But the battle wasn't over. Plasma bursts began erupting from the purple light of the elevator shaft, as Jackals lead Grunts and Elites into the hallway. The Jackal's shields were slowly fading from the constant fire of the marines, but when one Jackal was killed another quickly stepped into its position. Marines tossed grenades down the hall and were rewarded with a satisfying thud, as Jackals shrieked in pain. But the all too familiar flare of plasma grenades began darting the hallway toward the encamped marines.

"Raise the barricades!" Wesley shouted. Suddenly several metal combat barricades reared up from the floor and the plasma grenades paths were impeded. The metal barricades rocked backwards from the detonation of five grenades. The marines lowered the metal slabs and returned fire. Two marines dropped to the ground as kneedler rounds exploded in their chest. But the Marines didn't falter. Two more soldiers stepped up and took their positions.

"Ok, you Covenant bastards, show me your next hand." Eric softly said to himself. The roar of gun fire and plasma singes drowned out his thoughts at times. The more they fought, the more the aliens pushed, and it felt like the Covenant would simply try to wear them down. "They're desperate for this thing."

"More Hunters!" Wesley shouted over the rattle of gun fire. Another Hunter charged into the tunnel with his shield up and his cannon foaming with radiation. The .30 calibers turned and fired, but this time the deadly accuracy of the Grunts came into play. Six plasma grenades streaked passed the Hunter, by mere inches, and landed at the feet of Wesley and his front line. "$hit!" Wesley cursed as he grabbed a marine and tossed him back. Wesley barely had to the chance to jump away when the plasma grenades exploded, tossing him and several other marines backwards.

"Step up!" Eric shouted to the second line. "Get that barricade raised! Hurry!" The marines ran up to the metal bulks that lined the floor, but it was too late. The Hunter fired his cannon into the mass of human flesh, killing six of them and wounding another. The massive creature roared as he crossed the threshold into the facility. Several Grunts ran in under him and began spraying the room with plasma fire. Elites and Jackals soon followed.

"Okay you bastards." Eric stated. He pressed a button on the security desk and wall mounted turrets sprang to action. Several Automatic Turrets began to lock targets in the room. The AI that controlled the guns instantly recognized the alien threat and began to track their movements. Two guns hung above the front security desk and two guns were stationed on each side of the door, behind the Grunts and Hunter.

"Hold them here!" Eric shouted to the Marines at his side. The marines and the auto-turrets quickly began to make short work of the Grunts, and the Hunter had no defense against the guns at his back. He fell to the ground before he could fire a second shot from his large cannon.

Eric knew the auto-turrets would come into play but he hoped that it wouldn't. The AI that controlled the aiming system wasn't the best program in the world, and because the facility was so small, ONI decided it wasn't worth giving them a smart AI to assist them. But using the auto-turrets meant that more energy was being used from the backup generators. They would eventually run out of ammo and power.

Eric put a round from his battle rifle into a grunts head as it ran into the room and then looked back at Rose. She was pulling Wesley's unconscious body into the lab area, along with some of the other wounded marines. Eric quickly turned back as an Elite stormed into the room with its plasma sword primed to kill. The auto-turrets fired at the grey armored Elite and its shields took the majority of the damage. The Elite tried to take cover and ran toward the security desk. It hopped over the security desk's counter and came face to face with a dozen marines. The plasma sword swung wildly at a nearby marine, slashing across the soldier's chest, but the Elites weakened shields made him easy prey for the other marines. The Elite crumbled to the ground lifeless as the marines held their ground.

"I'll have to shut down the turrets or we'll be in the black." Eric stated over the constant tatter of gun fire. "Hold that door." The marines stepped forward, tossing waves of grenades down the hall in order to hold what little ground they had. The auto-turrets whirled to a stop, and Eric raced to the door with the rest of the marines. "Give me a hand." Eric stated to one of the Marines that was holding back. They each grabbed the GP turret and carried them back behind the security desk. "Reload these two guns and position them inside the lab so you have a clear shot at the lab door. We're going to have to fall back soon."

"Yes sir." The marine replied. He quickly began scavenging ammo and carried as much as he could into the lab. Rose only watched in confusion as Wesley and two other soldiers lay next to her.

"Ma'am, well need to move the guys out of harms way." The marine stated. "This lab is now our last stronghold."

"I'll move them while you get the rest of the ammo." Rose replied. She knew that the end was near, but she had to do her part. She quickly tossed Wesley's arm over her shoulder and grabbed his belt. She then began to drag him down the stairs and toward the back of the lab. Her physical strength was an asset she was grateful for at that moment; all that working out she did was finally paying off. She hustled back to the top of the stairs and repeated her trip with the other soldiers. It was a slow process but at least she wasn't sitting around waiting to die.

Grunts began to storm into the hallway, tossing grenades into the room with expert precision. The marines were being forced to fall back as their numbers continued to dwindle. And with the portable .30 caliber GP turrets no longer a factor, the Elites and the remaining Hunter began their charge down the hall.

"Damn, another Hunter!" Eric shouted. He tossed his last grenade and tapped his men on their shoulders; only six remained at the door. "Fall back to the lab, maintain cover fire." Eric picked up what ammo and guns he could carry and fell back to the lab door. He tossed the guns to the marines that were already inside and began firing down the hallway toward the door. The six marines heard the bursts of fire from behind and began to fall back. Once inside the lab Eric noticed that the Elites were beginning to storm into the facility, lead by the massive Hunter.

"Rose!" Eric shouted over his shoulder. "Turn on the security turrets!" Rose quickly jumped up and ran to her work desk. She powered up the computer and accessed the security protocols. She then powered up the auto-turrets. The turrets near the security desk sprang to life and began to fire wildly at the nearby covenant forces, but it didn't take long for the Elites to disable them.

"They just went of line!" Rose yelled up to Eric. As she looked she could see that Eric was now under heavy fire as two marines tumbled into the room. The last marine tossed a few grenades toward the approaching covenant squad as Eric waved his hand over the door plate. The massive door slowly closed and sealed shut. Eric slid down the door and exhaled heavily. It felt like he hadn't taken a breath during the assault.

"What now, LT?" The marine that tossed the grenade asked. He sat beside Eric and pulled off his helmet. "How long will this door hold?"

"It's pure Titanium-A." Eric replied. "It's ten inches thick so it should hold a while. All we can really do is hope that the Covenant don't break it down before our reinforcements show up."

"If we get reinforcements." The marine added as he hung his head. As much as Eric hated to admit it, he was probably right. The covenant had a Carrier full of supplies and troops, hovering over their heads, and with only a cruiser class shell of Titanium-A and eight marines stopping them from getting what they wanted. Eric really had his doubts that support was coming. A soft thud tapped against the door and Eric thought that perhaps a grunt was banging on it, but reality was that it was a Hunter. Not even the massive strength of a Hunter would be enough to topple the door. The covenant would eventually bring in some other means to get the door down.

"How did they get down here, LT?" Wesley stated as he slowly began to sit up. He cradled his head as Rose assisted him. "I mean, we're two hundred feet underground and directly beneath a building."

"It was an energy projector." Eric replied. "They have them on the bigger ships. It's the same thing they did on Reach."

"Reach, Sir?" The marine questioned. Eric then realized that only a select few within the marine core had been debriefed about the survivors on Reach.

"There were a few survivors that hid in a mountain and they informed us of everything that happened." Eric countered. "They told us how the covenant blew out a mountain in order to get them, and then used their gravity lift to get down to them.

"Okay, so there's really know way to stop them?" Rose questioned. She stood to her feet and walked towards the black box. She then hurled the small box on top of a nearby table and entered several key strokes on the lock pad.

"What are you doing?" Eric stated. He quickly stood to his feet and walked down the stairs to Rose's position.

"They want this damned thing and their going to kill us all to get it." Rose said as she continued typing numbers onto the lock's data pad. "I say we cut our losses and give it too them."

"We have our orders to protect this thing." Eric sharply stated.

"And how will we protect it when we're dead?" Rose screamed. Her last entry worked and the black box cracked open. A bright pink light radiated from inside the box and illuminated the room. "If we give it to them we may live, but if they take it we die."

"Doctor, I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the box." Wesley stated as he cautiously stood to his feet. He raised his side arm and pointed it Rose's head. "I hate this as much as you, but that thing may be the difference in this war. We have to consider that, and our lives are not as important as the fate of the world."

"Sorry, Wesley." Rose softly stated as she opened the box door wider. "I'm not that noble. I'll take my chances." Rose couldn't help but feel that Wesley wasn't the only one with a gun pointed at her. She slowly looked around and noticed that three other marines were looking down the barrel at her. "I take full responsibility, if we get out of this. But I don't think any of you want to die down here."

"What makes you think they'll let us live once we give it to them?" Wesley snapped. "They've slaughtered every human that they've came into contact with. If you give it to them I highly doubt they'll smile and shake our hands after words. This is treason!" Wesley squeezed the trigger on his Magnum. The bullet pinged off the side of the black box and Rose froze. Her hands had nearly gripped the crystal, but Wesley's warning shot stopped her from fully grabbing it. "Those covenant bastards will pry that crystal out of my cold dead hands before they get it. There is no way in hell I'll give it to them! Rose, if you touch that crystal I swear to God I'll kill you!" Wesley took aim at the back of Rose's head.

"Stand down Private!" Eric finally cut in. Rose exhaled heavily after hearing Eric's voice. For a second, she thought Wesley was about to do her in. "I'll handle this."

"Sir, no sir!" Wesley replied. "My orders come directly from Section III, and I will not stand down unless you take control of this situation by closing that box." Eric was stunned by Wesley's words, but he knew that ONI would put someone on the inside, but he never imagined it was Private First Class Wesley Williams.

"So you're the one reporting to ONI over our heads?" Eric turned.

"I had my orders, Sir." Wesley replied.

"Lower your side arm, soldier." Eric demanded. "That's an order!"

"Will you close the box, Sir?" Wesley sharply countered; maintaining his aim at Rose.

"I will do what I deem necessary to protect that artifact!" Eric shouted. "And putting a gun to a woman's head is not the way to do it. Lower your sidearm, damn it!"

"Sir, I can not do that until you show that you are willing to protect that artifact, and not hand it over to the enemy!" Wesley turned and faced Eric; glaring at him sharply. Rose cautiously looked over her shoulder and noticed that Wesley was no longer looking at her, but still had the gun aimed at her. She took the chance.

Rose grabbed the crystal, ignored the tingle that ran up her arm from touching it, and dashed across the room. The crystal was the size of a toy ball and weighed practically nothing.

"Rose!" Wesley shouted. His heart dropped from the shock that she actually did it. Wesley took aim and fired a round near her leg. The bullet split the air around her calf, but she didn't stop. She hopped a desk and ran to the door. She quickly ran passed her desk, and typed in the command to open the lab door. Eric then grabbed her by the arm, but Rose was already in the act of running and slipped out of Eric's grip. The door slowly hissed open.

"Eric, close the door!" Rose screamed. She new that she only needed a small opening to toss the crystal through, and by the time Eric entered the command she would have given the covenant the crystal. The door slowly opened and the Marine sitting at the door finally realized that what he was seeing was really happening. Rose had taken the crystal, was being shot at and was running at him. Not to mention that the door he was leaning against was slowly opening.

The marine turned and could see the glaring eyes of an elite peeping through the partially opened door. The door continued to open but stopped as Eric entered the command on the computer. The massive Titanium-A slab was only open wide enough for hand to barely fit through. The marine could hear the chatter of Elites and Grunts out side and quickly stepped away from the door.

"Stop her!" Wesley shouted to the marine. Stunned, the marine turned and saw Rose running up the stairs toward him. He simply gazed at her with confusion and shock.

"Grab her!" Eric shouted as he fondled with his computer to close the door. "Get the Crystal!" The marine snapped out of his daze and grabbed Rose by the shoulder, but the damage had been done. Her hand was empty as the crystal fell into the crack of the door. The door closed and sealed, and everyone in the room fell silent.

"Rose…" Eric muttered; cutting through the dead silence. Rose collapsed to her knees and began to cry again. The marine that had grabbed her, still held her in his arms; contemplating what had just happened.

"I didn't want to die!" Rose screamed. Two minutes of silence filled the air and once again the room began to rumble, but this time it felt as though the ground itself was moving. Everything was being tossed around the lab, and it was nearly impossible for the small group to keep themselves from being thrown about. Rose grabbed the stair railing and held on for life, but her grip slipped and she hit her head on the wall; blacking out instantly.

**_To be continued…_**


	3. Close your eyes, you'll be dead soon

**Stage 3: Close your eyes, you'll be dead soon**

New Mombasa Crator Site  
12:23 October 20, 2552  
New Mombasa, Kenya

"I can't believe what I'm seeing." A marine gasped as he overlooked the massive crator that was once New Mombasa. There was little doubt in his mind that nothing could have survived, but he had his orders to search and rescue.

"At least it beats being in space right now." Another marine added.

"Load up the Pelican, you two; double time." The commanding officer quickly snapped.

The old city of Mombasa had become a refugee camp as wound civilians and marines wondered into the city. Some of the survivors were barely out of range when the Covenant carrier entered slip space in the heart of New Mombasa, but others were wounded by the covenant ground attack around the city.

Medical tents lined the river as Pelicans patrolled the skies over head. What was once a sprawling city of commerce and technology was now a smoldering crator with plumes of ash and dust still settling in its core. Emergency aid was being sent from all over the world, but only the local branch of UNSC and Marine ground forces were allowed to assist in the cleanup. Despite the Covenant carrier leaving Earth, a large fleet of Covenant cruisers still remained just beyond the kill zone of the Mac Guns; the Earth forces couldn't let down their guard.

As the Marines took to the air to begin their S and R detail, a nearby communication's officer flagged down his commanding officer.

"Sir, I'm getting a wide span communication for assistance." The com officer stated. "Sounds like survivors."

"Who the hell actually survived this mess?" The commanding officer questioned. Even though they had been told to search for survivors, no one actually expected them to find any.

"Unknown, Sir." The communications officer replied. "The signal is being sent off of a chatter frequency, and it's really weak because of the left over sub-space distortion. Whoever he is, he can't receive my transmissions because the chatter net throughout this region is pretty much useless."

"Can you send a direct transmission over the UNSC Band?" The commanding officer questioned.

"No. I've tried. My equipment is fine, but those chatters really weren't designed to function without the chatter net." The communications officer stated, but he smiled gleefully as he looked over his equipment. "But the good news is that I can track that signal."

"Good job soldier." The commanding officer replied. "Pinpoint their position and signal the nearest S and R team to get there. At least someone survived this mess."

Darkness filled the room as Rose opened her eyes. It was so dark that she couldn't tell if her eyes were open or still closed. Her head felt heavy and despite all attempts to stand, she had no feeling in her body. Her first thought was that she had broker her neck, but she slowly began to feel her fingers move. Her next concern came from the numb feeling she had against her head. She gingerly raised her arm toward her face and felt a warm liquid against her skin; the texture clearly felt like her own blood. She confirmed that it was blood when she touched a scar on the top of her head. She was bleeding horribly, but the more she examined it she became aware that it was only a deep gash; hopefully there wasn't any serious head trauma. She reached out into the darkness of her immediate area and felt a wall. She needed to elevate her head, and since she was slowly regaining full control of her body, she slowly pushed herself up and leaned against it.

"This is Lieutenant Eric Raynord, to any UNSC patrols. Do you copy?" Eric's voice was echoing throughout the darkness of the lab, and Rose tried to focus on the direction it was coming from but gave up.

"Do you think they'll come looking for us, Sir?" A marine questioned in the dark.

"I hope so." Eric replied. "I'd just like to know what the hell happened out there. If it was a nuke we'd be dead from Radiation by now."

"Eric, are you ok?" Rose muttered into the darkness.

"She's still alive." Wesley snapped from an unknown location, but Rose had the strangest sensation that he was close by.

"We'll deal with that later, Wesley." Eric replied.

"Sure we will." Wesley sarcastically added. "Never mind that if we do get out of here, we're all going to hang for treason."

"Rose, where are you?" Eric stated into the darkness. He held up his hand and turned on his chatter. The dark blue light from the chatter's tiny keypad dotted throughout the room. "Can you see my chatter?"

"You're directly in front of me, to the right." Rose responded. "I'm against the wall." Eric cautiously pushed through the darkness while bumping into tables, desks, chairs and stepping on unknown objects; the small blue light of his chatter providing no visual aid. "I'm here." Rose softly whispered as she grabbed Eric's pant leg.

Eric knelt down and grabbed Rose by the arm, and felt his way to her face. He then felt her warm blood on his hands. Without saying anything he quickly reached into his satchel and pulled out an emergency medical kit. He fumbled with it in the dark, but eventually found a compound of biofoam.

"Where's the wound?" Eric stated softly, but Wesley was within earshot.

"On my head, just above my hair line." Rose mumbled.

"Is she okay?" Wesley questioned. The sound of concern was very apparent to Eric, and slightly confusing. Eric chose to ignore his question, and focused on cleaning Rose's wound.

"This is going to hurt." Eric whispered to Rose. He unwound a bandage spool and sprayed the contents of the biofoam onto it. With the field wrap ready, he then placed his left hand on Rose's head, maneuvering around until he felt the loose skin and matted hair of her injury. Several thoughts went through his head as he found the open layer of skin, but he didn't want to think about anything other then stopping the bleeding. He parted Rose's hair as best he could in the dark and with his right hand he firmly pressed the bandage spool and biofoam mix onto her head.

The foam quickly mixed into Rose's skin and blood and instantly stopped the bleeding. It increased the coagulation of the exposed blood, but the pain it created exploded from Rose's lips as she screamed. She reached up and gripped Eric's arm, pulling him closer to herself and moaning as the pain intensified. Eric then wrapped the bandage spool around Rose's head and cradled her in his arms. It had been awhile since he had done a field wrap, and never had he done it in the dark, but Eric felt that he had done a good enough job and that the wrap should hold until they found a way out or were rescued.

After a few moments Rose stopped moaning and sighed as the brunt of the pain passed her by. She relaxed and rested her head against Eric's shoulder. She was relieved that he was close to her and she wasn't sitting alone in the dark, but her thoughts quickly turned to Wesley.

"Wesley?" Rose stated into the void of darkness. "You alright?"

"Does it matter?" Wesley replied. His tone was crisp and Rose could tell that he was still angry. And she understood perfectly why.

"Are you injured, Wesley?" Rose stated. She was stern with her tone and Eric chuckled to himself when he heard her. Even though Wesley wanted to kill her, she was still trying to help him. This was a little confusing to Eric, and he thought about the concern Wesley showed a few minutes ago.

"No." Wesley replied heavily. "My wounds are emotional." For a moment Eric felt that Wesley was angry for not killing her, but found that there was a hidden meaning behind his words.

"I'm sorry, Wesley." Rose replied softly. The way Rose said those three words made Eric realize that there truly was more going on. Rose lowered her head, hoping that Wesley would respond, but none came. She closed her eyes and rested against Eric's shoulder. He had taken off his protective armor and was holding her closely. His grip was firm but tender, and she could hear his breathing.

Time seemed to slip away until a loud thunder came from outside. The clatter of metal upon metal clanged throughout the room and suddenly light streamed in. It seemed to come from all around them, but the light was only coming from the entrance. Pain shot through their heads as everyone struggled to shield their eyes from the sun.

"Hello!" A shout came from the light. "Is anyone in there? Hello!"

"Yeah!" A marine sitting near the entrance shouted. "Thank God!" Wesley's eyes finally adjusted but the light was still blinding and painful, but he managed to look the room over. Two of the marines that were in the room with them had already stood up and were making their way toward the door. He then saw Eric and Rose sitting only a few feet away, holding each other. Rose was looking back at him with a heavy face, and then buried her head into Eric's chest. Wesley understood what she was feeling. In some ways he wished it too; that they could stay in the dark and be oblivious to the outside world. But reality was awaiting them just beyond the bent doors of the lab.

Wesley was the first to stand up as he pushed aside a chair that had fallen at his feet. Eric watched him as he gingerly walked across the debris toward the door. Eric and Wesley exchanged quick glances, and in that brief gaze they both shared unspoken words.

Wesley would have to report everything that happened during the battle to his ONI officials, and Eric would have to account for his actions. The two men looked away from each other and Wesley exited the building. The sunlight burned through his eyelids and he quickly tossed up his hands. It took forever for his eyes to adjust to the light and when it did all he could see was dust and hills.

A marine grabbed Wesley by the arm and lifted him out of the partially buried remains of the lab. Everything was gone; the hallway, the elevator shaft, the building, and the city. Wesley felt a cringe in his stomach and he looked back and saw energy burns all along the exposed section of the lab exterior. Part of the lab was still underground, buried beneath bedrock and cement. The ship grade Titanium-A had saved their lives but the rest of the city was gone. Buildings had vanished and nearly two hundred feet of bedrock had been removed; only a crater remained.

"Sir, what happened?" The marine standing beside Wesley questioned. "How could the covenant do this without using a nuke?"

"I don't know." Wesley replied. His mouth was still open when Rose and Eric walked out of the lab, being assisted by two marine medics.

"Lieutenant!" A marine shouted from a nearby pelican. "They need you at Mombasa camp Charley for debriefing, sir. They said that if it was you in that bunker, they want you to bring your cargo ASAP. I'm here to give you a ride sir. Your personnel are free to tag along for the debriefing." Eric knew what 'cargo' meant. They wanted the artifact.

Eric nodded to the marine and looked to Rose. She was crying again, as she looked around the crater. She felt partially responsible for everything she saw. Eric looked to Wesley and the marines that had survived the assault with him, and contemplated the next course of action.

"Excuse me, but what happened here?" Wesley asked a nearby medic.

"The covenant did a slip space jump in the city." The medic replied. "You guys were lucky. We lost everything in the city, and even a few platoons stationed around in Mombasa were whipped out from the shockwave. Those covi bastards, they'll pay for this."

Eric overheard the medic and so did Rose. She had stopped crying and was slowly coming to terms with what she had done. Wesley was staring at her, but not with anger or hatred; his eyes were filled with disappointment. Eric looked the group over and decided that there was no point to standing around, if they were going to face the firing squad then now was the time to do it.

"Alright marines, load up." Eric shouted over the roar of the pelican's engines. "Medical units, you can patch us up when we're in the air. Everybody get on the Pelicans, double time. I want a clean up crew to come back and grab all the MJOLNIR parts that can be found."

"Sir!" The group all replied. Eric was the senior officer at the site and immediately took command once he exited the lab, and everyone recognized that.

"LT, what about the cargo?" Wesley quickly asked, clearly referring to the artifact. His gaze was strong and brewed with tension. Eric felt his eyes burning into him and looked to Rose.

"I'll deal with it." Eric stated. "Load up!" Everyone climbed into the back of the two pelicans that had lined up around the lab facility, and the engines fired. The fully loaded pelicans did a partial vertical take off. They then nosed up and slowly rose as they gained momentum and sped away from the center of the crater. Eric stood on the ramp of the pelican and looked over the ruins that lined circled area where New Mombasa once stood. He then noted that the massive Geosynchronous Tether had also been whipped out. The supply elevator to the Orbital space stations had been cut, and Eric realized that refortifying the space stations would be difficult and time consuming.

Other thoughts ran through his mind as he gazed over the horizon. His friends, and everyone he had worked with at the ONI facility were dead. None of the security guards had survived the battle underground, and most of the lab technicians, that weren't considered important personal, probably didn't get out of the city. So many lives had been lost. Eric was use to seeing death, he was a soldier, and the covenant had been killing off human colonists all of his life. He joined the marine core on his eighteenth birthday and never looked back to his old life. Eric had seen many conflicts and small scuffles against the covenant while he served, but never had he seen a planet glassed. The thought of Earth being wiped from existence made him feel uncomfortable. He wanted to fight this war, he wanted to help humanity survive, and if the UNSC officials didn't hang him for treason, he was going to do everything in his power to fight the covenant menace.

The two pelicans soared toward Mombasa's base camp and landed within five minutes. The pilot's had already radioed ahead and notified the base of the survivors, and Eric wasn't surprised to see the ONI brass waiting at the landing zone. The pelican slowly lowered to the ground, sending dust in all directions, as its massive engines roared to a halt. Eric sprang from the ramp of the pelican and saluted the officers that stood before him. Wesley and the other group of marines all fell in line, and saluted as the medics assisted Rose out of the pelican. Her field wrap had been removed and a cleaner wrap had been applied.

"At ease gentlemen." The high ranking ONI officer stated. "We'll debrief quickly. If you will all follow me." The officer then pointed to Rose and the medics and stated; "Take Doctor Santos to the medical block, and after she's cleaned up, take her to the shelters. She's seen of enough of this war."

"Sir, if I may speak?" Wesley quickly snapped. The officer agreed by nodding his head and Eric could only lower his eyes as his gut began to turn. "I believe it will be best if Doctor Santos accompanied us to the debriefing. It concerns the cargo." The officer looked at Rose and agreed.

The group all walked to a nearby building which was protected by troops on all sides. As they approached the door of the building their hands were checked with ID scanners. Inside was a mixture of ONI officials and high ranking UNSC brass. A table was littered with maps of Kenya, neighboring waterways, and ocean charts. Various fruits and beverages also decorated the table as the group of high ranking men and women tossed around heated debates on the battle at hand.

Wesley, Eric and their marine compliment all saluted as they walked in, but none of the brass paid them any attention. That is until one of the ONI officials questioned them.

"Where's the box, lieutenant?" The gray haired woman questioned. Wesley and Eric recognized her as the head of the project team that studied the artifact. She led the team that came to the lab everyday and studied the crystal. "You were ordered to bring it."

"Ma'am, the cargo was taken by the covenant assault." Eric replied. "We defended as best we could but…"

"But nothing!" Another man shouted. This man was slightly younger, wore the brand of a major within the ONI ranks, and was more threatening with his tone. "If you defended it then you should all be dead. That … cargo was worth more then your measurable lives. I have no reason to be here if this is all you have for me. Good day gentlemen." The major stormed out of the room, followed by several other ONI officials. Eric felt slightly relieved that he was gone. The major matched a man that he knew by name and rumor only; Major Standish.

"What happened down there, lieutenant?" The project head questioned. She sat the table and gazed at Wesley out of the corner of her eyes, but kept her focus on Eric.

"Ma'am." Eric began. He retold the battle inside the facility and how his men fought bravely. He then arrived at the part where they locked themselves inside the lab. The project head then waved her hand cutting the story short.

"You're stalling, lieutenant." She softly stated. The other ONI officials and UNSC brass became even more eager to know the full details. "How did it end up in the covenants hands, while you and your men lived to tell this tale?" She questioned strongly.

"I gave it to them." Rose whispered from her seat. The room filled with rumbles of disapproval as the officials became enraged.

"Why did you do that?" The project head demanded in a confused and astonished tone. Her voice cut through the uproar with a rage that startled everyone. Rose froze and slowly lowered her head.

"They would have killed us, and I didn't know what else to do." Rose pleaded.

"Private, anything to add?" The project head asked Wesley. Wesley was frozen in shock and could barely muster the strength to stand.

"No ma'am." Wesley stuttered. Eric and Rose were a little shocked that Wesley didn't say anything.

"Private, are you aware that her actions, as well as your own, constitute as high treason?" The project head stated harshly. She was well beyond the limit of containing her anger. "You have no secrets from us Private! If she goes in front of the firing squad, you'll go as well! We know everything about you and Doctor Santos!" Eric cocked his head back swiftly and looked at Rose, with questions flooding into his mind.

"He had nothing to do with this, he tried to stop me!" Rose shouted.

"Shut up, Doctor!" The woman demanded. "Don't think for a moment that we are not aware of the power of female seduction. You're relationship with Private First Class Wesley Williams has been under investigation for quite some time." Eric gritted his teeth and simply listened. "You may have kept the details of your involvement with the Private a secret to some, but within our ranks we can not afford to let such acts go unnoticed."

"If I may interrupt?" A UNSC official questioned. The older man walked to the project heads side and looked to the marines that survived with them. "Does one of you men have your Recorder Chip on hand?" The surviving marines looked to each other and one of them shock his head yes, and pulled the chip from his helmet recorder. "Could you please queue it up in that terminal?" The marine nodded and walked to the terminal. He inserted the chip into the terminal's digital reader and began to play back the data from the battle.

"Lieutenant, explain what we're seeing?" The project head stated.

"Ma'am, this is just before we sealed ourselves in the lab." Eric stated as the marines point of view showed a covenant assault team pushing down the hall. It quickly shifted and the marine began to race toward the lab, he turned and threw a grenade and the door to the lab closed. The quality became fuzzy and the screen once again shifted as he took off his helmet. Everything that was said was easily heard, and everyone recognized their voices. Soon the picture darkened and you could no longer see what was going on, but you could hear what everyone was saying.

Every word was crystal clear; Wesley's shouting, Eric demanding Wesley to drop the gun, and Rose disobeying Wesley's demand to close the box. There was a loud shout as Wesley screamed, then a gunshot, followed by tussling and then a loud hiss as the doors opened. Rose yelled to Eric to close the door, and Wesley shouting to the marine to stop her. The screen began to glow pink and soon the roar of the Elites was heard. The pink glow faded and the sound of the door closing filled the speakers.

"Enough." The project head stated. "Turn it off. This is clearly treason. Private, there is no doubt that your threat toward Doctor Santos was true, but at the time you couldn't bring yourself to actually kill her and protect the artifact. Had you not had a relationship with her then perhaps you could have affectively stopped her. Lieutenant, you should have stopped her from even trying to open the box. And Doctor, you gave the covenant an artifact that could very well cost us this war, and all of our lives." The project head lowered her head and sighed. "Marines, you are dismissed. Locate the command bunker two clicks north, and find a new squad. As for the rest of you; Private First class Wesley Williams, Lieutenant Eric Raynord, and Doctor Roselyn Santos, you are all hereby found guilty of conspiring with the enemy, according to the United Nations Space Command and Office of Naval Intelligence Terms of War. According to this doctrine, the highest ranking official on the scene has the right to deal with you, without the approval of the committee, in any way they see fit." The head then turned and looked to the UNSC commanding officer. The naval officer was a Lieutenant Commander and was clearly torn about what to do.

"This is interesting." The man stated. "I have never made such a decision as dealing with traitors, and the only possible decision is death by firing squad." Eric remained focused and didn't let the commander's words phase him, but Wesley and Rose were clearly bothered by it. The room was quiet, no one wanted to agree that the punishment fit the crime, but no one spoke against it either. "Lieutenant Eric Raynord, you were in command of defending the artifact, crystal thing. Do you have anything to say on your behalf?"

"Sir, only that if I am to die, then let me die fighting." Eric stated sharply. "We need every man we can against the covenant, and while mandate may demand that we deserve to be shot, I say let us die on the battlefield. The situation got out of hand, I understand that, but in reality sir, the covenant would have gotten their hands on that crystal no matter how hard we fought. I'm not agreeing that what the Doctor did was correct, but it happened, she wanted to live and we lost control of the situation. Allow us to fight, all of us. Put us on the front line. Sir, let us repay our error in battle." This was all Eric wanted; a chance to plead his case and get to fight for his home.

Eric's words gave the Lieutenant Commander something to contemplate. Everyone was fully aware that they weren't truly traitors. They were simply victims of their emotions and one woman's desperation to live. But the punishment for treason was death, and this left the commander with a rather large decision to make.

"One thing is for sure, we really should look beyond this situation as if they are traitors. The commander stated. "I think most of us here know that the loss of that crystal isn't at all that bad, seeing that we cracked its code several weeks ago." The commander looked to the project head and she frowned angrily. "We can discuss that information in private. But none the less, an act against Earth was committed and I agree to the Lieutenants terms." A heavy sigh echoed across the room; no one wanted to see them die.

It was the human condition to live, and if put in the situation how many wouldn't have done the same. Even the best soldiers could crack under overwhelming conditions, but a civilian with no training was bound to do whatever was necessary to survive. Despite the commander's decision, the project head had nothing to say, she simply sat in silence.

"If there are no objections, I hereby reprimand PFC Williams and Lieutenant Raynord with full demotions." The commander addressed as he lit his pipe. He took a deep puff and exhaled the light grey smoke into the air. "First Lieutenant Eric Raynord, demoted to Sergeant, your skill and leadership will be needed out there. PFC Wesley Williams you are hereby demoted and repositioned to Marine core Private. You will serve directly under Sergeant Raynord." The commander then focused his attention to Rose and stared at her deeply. "As for you Doctor, you have no training in combat but you are fairly physically fit, as evident in your ability to out maneuver four marines. Therefore, you'll be assigned to Sergeant Raynord's squad on the front line. He can position you however he feels. Pray, young lady that this past battle is all the covenant intends to do, however unlikely that is."

"Sergeant, you are all dismissed." The project headed stated abruptly. She was clearly not happy that the commander disregarded her anger. Eric saluted the brass and the ONI officials then escorted Wesley and Rose out of the room. Once the door closed behind him the officials began barking and shouting at each other over how the situation had been handled.

Wesley walked ahead of Eric and pushed the doors open to the outside. He inhaled heavily and vomited on the sidewalk. He leaned against the building and gasped for air. He was happy to be alive, but the pressure from dealing with all the higher ups and then hearing the words 'firing squad' had torn him up inside. He was grateful that he held it in until he got outside.

"I'd rather face the covenant any day." Wesley gasped as he cleared his throat. Eric and Rose walked out and gave Wesley a quick glance. Ross looked to Eric but he didn't share her gaze.

"Private, take Rose to the medical block and I want both of you to get some rest." Eric commanded. "Keep an eye on her and don't let her wonder off. The brass in there let us go, but they may change their minds if they see Rose wondering around on her own."

"Yes sir." Wesley cautiously stated. "We're going to put this all behind us, right Eric?" Eric was silent for a turn but looked back at Wesley and Rose. Rose was hanging her head and was clearly exhausted, but partially embarrassed. Her secret relationship with Wesley had been exposed, and she knew how Eric felt about her.

"Five hours of R and R." Eric replied. "Get some grub and sleep. That's an order." Eric turned and walked away. Rose was somewhat shocked at Eric's demeanor. Where was the funny man she knew from college, and would flirt with her? Eric would always tell her that everything was going to be alright, but the military version of Eric was strict and proud. Even when they worked together she had never seen this side of him. The military had indeed changed him, and Rose was finding it difficult to find the man she once knew.

Wesley quickly ran up to Eric and jumped in front of him; "If you're going to be my CO, then I need to know that we're going to put this behind us?" Wesley whispered. "Rose and I were only together for…"

"Marine, I gave you an order." Eric cut in. "Take Rose to the medical block, now!" Eric pushed passed Wesley and headed down the street. Wesley simply watched him walk off and turned to Rose.

"What did you say to him?" Rose asked. Wesley walked over to Rose and kicked a can that was lying about.

"It's not important." Wesley stated. "Let's go." Rose and Wesley walked off toward the crowded medical block, and watched as refugees and marines cluttered together as they awaited news and information about survivors and the status of the covenant attack.

"You know, for a second I thought you were going to shoot me." Rose stated, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Wesley turned and looked at her.

"For a second, I didn't think you were going to do it." Wesley stated calmly. "And in that second, you did. That's why I didn't kill you." Wesley's words cut deep into Rose. She understood what he was saying and realized that things were different between them. "Just drop it Rose. We've got bigger things to worry about now." Wesley and Rose continued walking and vanished into the crowd of soldiers and civilians.

Marine barracks

Charley Camp

16:20 October 20, 2552

Mombasa, Kenya

Wesley was startled awake from the sirens that were echoing throughout the city. It was the all too familiar sound of the global alarm system. The covenant was coming and this time, they weren't coming with a small cluster of ships. Wesley sat up and quickly jumped from his bunk, tossing on his gear and doubled checked his weapon. He looked at Rose and she was sitting up, but her face was flushed; she was horrified.

Male and female marines quickly ran in and out of the bunks, grabbing gear and getting dressed. The air was thick with tension as Rose nervously dressed into her uniform. She was immediately enlisted into the marine core as a warrant officer. She brushed aside her nerves and pulled the bandage off her head. Wesley watched as she tightened her belt and pulled on her body armor. He marveled at how well shaped she was and was thankful that the two of them were able to remain somewhat close friends, even after their relationship ended. The one thing that troubled him was that he could no longer enjoy her company; Rose gave a great back rub, and was wonderful at other things.

Rose snapped her chest armor and shoulder guards in place. She had seen Eric adjust it once and quickly recalled how to do it. The marine fatigues were easier to prep because the ODST uniform she wore earlier was much more complicated.

Wesley tossed her a helmet and the two ran out of the barracks with the rest of the platoon. They had been assigned to a small platoon earlier in the day and were now about to meet their Commanding officers.

They fell in line and Wesley pointed out were Rose should stand. She quickly stepped in line in behind Wesley as the complete platoon of forty marines gathered. Wesley turned around and looked her over making sure her gear was in check and noticed that she was trembling uncontrollably.

"Relax, this is easy part." Wesley quickly chuckled.

"Easy for you to say." Rose nervously returned. Wesley turned and looked toward the front. The LT walked out with Eric and another man close behind. The lieutenant of the platoon was Jason Morganton, and his two sergeants were Justin Rodgers and Eric Raynord.

"Sergeant Raynord, break them in please." The lieutenant stated. Rose quickly found Eric at the front of the group and her eyes never left him.

"Listen up and listen good!" Eric stated sharply and directly to the platoon. "The covenant has begun their assault, and some ground forces have broken through, but the MAC guns are keeping the majority of their fleet at bay. We have our orders to report to the front, and since we're a new platoon they're sending us to lead an assault, but we've got one hell of a flight ahead. Were going north so break up into your squads and load up those Pelicans. I want prep completed and dust off in ten… you get me?"

"Yes sir!" The platoon of 40 marines sounded off in unison. Wesley was surprised when he heard Rose give a shout and felt that she was picking up on the drills pretty quickly.

"Stop staring at me and get to work, leathernecks!" Eric walked away and the platoon quickly began to hustle loading gear into the nearby pelicans that had already begun their preflight procedures.

Rose continued to feel awkward at Eric's words. His tone and aggression was unlike anything she had known of him. Even during the battle underground he had seemed poised and in charge, but now he seemed even more in control and leadership seemed to come to him naturally.

"Rose, stick with me, we've got ammo duty." Wesley stated as he began a light jog to a nearby bunker. Rose stuck close behind and didn't notice Eric watching her.

"It's a damn shame what happened to you, Eric." Lieutenant Jason Morganton stated. "No matter what the brass may say, you're always going to be a first lieutenant in my eye."

"I appreciate that, Jason, but let's keep to protocols." Eric replied. "I don't want to cause any confusion amongst the men. Besides, your rank says it all. When we hit the LZ, my squad will always go in first, no matter how hot. Those were the conditions past down from the brass."

"You know that's a suicide run." Jason added. "I'll come up with a better strategy before we get there. It's a long flight." Jason turned to his other Sergeant, Justin Rodgers, and passed the young man a data pad for the inventory. "Double down on that list, Justin. We can't afford to forget anything."

"I'm on it." Justin returned. The three watched as the platoon hustled throughout the camp. They were loading the pelicans quickly and swiftly as two Scorpion MBTs rolled around the corner and toward the 8 pelicans. The platoon was going into combat fully equipped and with as much personal and artillery as they could manage. Soon after the Scorpions were docked under the Pelicans, four LRV Warthogs sped into the clearing and prepped to be connected to the Pelicans. Two warthogs bore the three barrels of the M41 turret. The other two warthogs were loaded with GUASS cannons, and were quickly becoming a favorite amongst the marine that were lucky enough to get them. The marines had just recently begun to nickname the GUASS cannon, Spits.

Without warning, the twilight sky began to part as a covenant cruiser sped toward the ground. It leveled off and flew several hundred feet about the marine barracks, but continued to speed away from the area. A dozen Skyhawk fighters quickly darted across the camp in pursuit of the massive ship. The marines all gasped for a moment, but knew that they had to hurry. They continued to secure all their gear and equipment; filling the pelicans as best they could.

There was no denying that the covenant had arrived on Earth, and the MAC stations were having a hard time stopping all of the ships. Other covenant cruisers and carriers were also breaking through the high orbit kill zone, as more and more of them were spotted entering the Earth's atmosphere. This was it, this was the day the inhabitants of Earth had always feared. The covenant armada was here.

_**To be continued…**_


	4. Hit it, Red Squad!

**Stage 4: Hit it, Red Squad!**

Northern Suez Canal;  
Covenant Beachhead  
02:45 October 21, 2552  
Port Said, Egypt

Surprise was the only element the platoon had against the overwhelming covenant arsenal.

In the dark of night the eight pelicans cruised at an ultra low altitude, desperately trying to stay out of the covenant scanner range. The moon sat high overhead and sparkled brilliantly upon the silver lines of the covenant cruiser in the distance. Darkness would be their cloak, and it would be the key to them sneaking into the city undetected. The port city of Said was slowly coming into view as the sky glowed with mortar fire. Skyhawk and Seraph fighters battled in the skies overhead, while local marines fought off the alien advance as best they could.

Eric placed his hand to the side of his helmet and stood to his feet. He walked to the tail of the pelican ramp and a red light filled the bay.

"Red Squad, lock and load." Eric chimed as he listened to the communication from his helmet uplink. "Roger, Jason. Red Squad will hit in five. We'll setup an LZ for the platoon while Blue squad finds the local brigade." Eric pulled his hand away from his helmet and looked over his squad. This was his team, twenty new recruits fresh from training and had never seen combat. With the exception of himself and Wesley, his whole squad was wet behind the ears. "Listen up. The covenant has a beachhead. We're breaking in and taking it back. First priority is to establish an LZ for the rest of the platoon. Once we clear the LZ the platoon will come in and pull up our rear. Then we'll deploy and take on the covenant. Wesley, form up the squad!"

"On it!" Wesley hopped up from his seat and tapped several marines on the shoulder. He split the squad into two groups of ten. He looked at Rose and smiled at her. "Stick with me." He said softly. The ramp on the pelican hissed as it opened and one of the marines slammed his fist against the wall near the rear door. A heavy chain gun, stationed on a hanging arm, unlocked from the side wall and the marine swiveled the massive gun and took aim out the rear. "Squad formed serge!" Wesley snapped.

"Juggernaut, ETA till dust-off?" Eric stated into his helmet com.

"LZ dead ahead. ETA two minutes, sergeant." The pilot of the pelican stated in the com. Luckily, Eric was able to get the best pilot out of Mombasa camp Charley to fly his bird, knowing full well that the battle would be pointless if his men didn't get to the target. Juggernaut had experience on dozens of drop missions during the war, mostly on colony worlds that were eventually glassed. However, he was able to make it out of all the previous encounters. Eric looked over his young squad and cocked a wicked grin.

"When we touchdown you'll break into your assigned fire team and cover each side of the street." Eric shouted over the thud of mortar blasts that was getting closer and closer. Two marines vomited as the pelican shifted from the shockwaves. "Stay low and sharp! I want Rocket boys to the front, now. You'll give us some clearing. When you hit, hit hard, and don't let up." More mortar blasts rocked the Pelican and the young nerves of Red squad began to rattle. Eric maintained his posture and never looked worried. "If it's not human, kill it. Brute, elite, dog, or squirrel; I don't care! Kill it!"

"What if I find a puppy, serge?" Wesley chuckled.

"You find a puppy, I hope it bites you in the ass." Eric retorted. Some of the marines laughed while others struggled to maintain their sanity. The quick words eased some of the tension in the squad but that didn't last long. "Move up!" Eric shouted to the squad. Everyone jumped up and grabbed the hangers overhead. Eric moved down the line, checking all twenty of his marines and letting their names burn into his mind. He stopped at Rose and saw that she was barely keeping it together. Her nerves were completely shot, she was trembling, and her pupils were fully dilated. He was happy to see her scared, because the added adrenaline would keep her alive even if she was shot a few times.

The rear speaker on the pelican sparked to life as Juggernaut shouted; "LZ is hot, two wraiths, four ghosts… the platoon is breaking off and awaiting your all-clear, serge. Dust off, give him hell marines!" The pelican swung 180 degrees as the rear of the pelican placed the marines in direct view of the battle ahead of them. The brutal sign of war was thrown into the young squad's faces, as they all peered out of the pelican's rear ramp. Two ghosts spotted the bird and began speeding toward them with their plasma guns blazing. The marine manning the swivel chain gun pulled the trigger and the gun hummed a metallic tune. He chopped down several Jackal patrols before they could get clear of his arsenal, and then he turned on the two ghosts; laying a thick layer of suppressing fire.

"Rocket boys, take two and two!" Eric shouted. He pointed at the two forward ghosts and then the trailing ghosts. The two rocket holders stepped up to the ramp. The metallic tune of the chain gun echoed between them, and they fired their Jackhammer's explosive cargo. The missiles homed in on the two ghosts and took them out. Then they took aim at the two trailing ghosts, but as they aimed Eric screamed to the rest of the squad, "Go, go, go!" They couldn't stand and watch; they had to move out. Red squad piled out of the pelican's rear bay as plasma and gun fire erupted around them. Two rockets streaked over the marines heads and blew apart the two ghosts. The squad then split into two fire teams; ten to the left and ten to the right. Eric pulled up the rear, and the two rocket boys quickly jumped from the pelican and caught up to their teams.

It didn't take long for the covenant wraith tanks to spot the pelican. One of them quickly spun around and began spraying its massive plasma mortars into the area. The squad was already clear, however, and the pelican flew off into the night sky.

Eric and his team took to the street, and pushed towards the looming wraith tanks. The tanks had yet to spot them, as it fired toward the fleeing pelican. The street was littered with burned out warthogs and various civilian vehicles, and that made for excellent cover as the two teams closed in. Buildings were smoldering from an earlier covenant barrage, and it was clear that the covenant had taken complete control of the city. Marines were most likely scattered throughout the small port city, fighting as best they could.

Eric crouched and quickly ran to the front of the left side fire team. He looked to the opposite side of the street, and held up two fingers in the direction of the Wesley's fire team. He then pointed to the right side wraith tank and made a fist. Wesley received the instructions and understood. He looked back and waved for one of the rocket launchers to move up the line. Eric did the same with his team. The rocket launchers quickly raced to the front of each line and took aim. Two Jackhammers simultaneously streaked into the air, each hitting their targets with deadly accuracy. One of the tanks exploded upon impact as the jackhammer hit its exposed mid section, but the other wraith took a direct hit on the heavily plated forward section and rocked backwards; remaining intact.

"Shit!" Eric cursed, but the two rocket boys took aim and each fired another volley at the single wraith. It turned and fired one plasma ball from its mortar cannon before the two jackhammers impacted it again; the combination of the two heavy explosives left only a smoldering hunk of burning blue plasma in its wake. The mortar blast soared toward the fire teams and exploded harmlessly in the center of the street. Several Brute patrols quickly began running toward the commotion. Eric spotted the Brutes coming and circled his hands over his head twice, as he looked toward Wesley and his team.

Wesley pulled his team close and they quickly cut through a crumbling building just off the road. Rose was in the center of the team and followed the group without a problem. Eric realized that now he had to distract the oncoming Brutes with a diversion while his other fire team flanked them. The Brutes were close, but he had some time. There were fifteen Brutes and nearly a dozen Jackals that were about to pounce on them, and he had to form up his team. Oddly, there were no Elites.

"Cover the street." Eric softly stated. "Spread two by two and take blind shots at the Brutes and Jackals. Once Wesley and his team get behind them, I'll call the charge. We'll catch them in a cross fire. Go, go!" The team quickly scattered, no longer trying to conceal their locations. They quickly broke into pairs and took cover. They started firing at the oncoming group of Jackals and Brutes, trying to hit them but mainly just trying to get their attention. The Jackals lowered their shields and screamed high pitch shrieks, as their Plasma Pistols sent waves of charged plasma at the team. Plasma grenades darted the air and several marines quickly relocated.

Eric spotted two Jackals attempting to break into his lines. He quickly pulled the trigger on his battle riffle twice, and both of the bird like creatures dropped to the ground as exit wounds parted their heads. His team was doing well, but they weren't going to be able to hold off the whole group. Eric took shots at more Brutes and Jackals with deadly precision as he hoped Wesley and his team would break through.

Private Wesley Williams and his fire team of 9 marines quickly, but quietly, worked through the rubble of the crumbled building. The group could hear Eric's team firing in the distance and knew that they didn't have much time. Wesley tossed up his fist and the team froze in their spots. He looked ahead and saw a large gap between the building, and even in the dark he knew his team would be exposed. He stepped forward and saw several Brutes lobbing grenades toward the other team, almost forty yards away. They needed to move further up the street and get behind the enemy formation, and they had to hurry because Covenant reinforcements were most likely on the way.

Wesley stepped up to a nearby window that overlooked the battle on the street. He then tripped the safety on his sniper rifle and took aim at the Brute closest to his position. His team would have to cross the clearing in order to make it the adjacent building, and if the Brute saw them then their position would be in jeopardy. He'd have to risk shooting the Brute if it saw his team, and while his SRS99C sniper rifle was relatively quite, the Jackals had sensitive ears and would easily hear the discharge. He took aim at the Brute's head, but kept both eyes open so he could see if any of the other alien creatures would spot his team.

"Rose, take them over." Wesley whispered. "Go one at a time." Rose looked at Wesley as if he lost his mind and nearly yelled no, but refrained from talking. "Move it. We don't have time!" Wesley urged. Rose stepped through the debris and looked to see if the coast was clear. The Brute turned his head and looked away. Rose sprinted as fast and as quietly as she could, and hopped through a hole in the wall of the neighboring building. She landed inside and looked back to see if she was clear. The Brute hadn't noticed her and she stepped deeper into the room. Another marine jumped in behind her, and startled her. Rose nearly screamed but swallowed the air that had formed in her lungs.

"Is the room clear?" The marine asked. Rose paused, not knowing how to answer. She simply shook her head in an approval. "Good, move ahead to the next room and check it out, I'll be right behind, babe." The marine stated. He had a heavy Australian accent and Rose quickly peered at his name badge; Marks.

Marks was a clean cut man, tall, and young. Rose could tell that he was barely in his twenties. She walked away from Marks as he peered out the hole and waited for other marines to pile in. Rose opened a nearby door, and peeped inside. The room was empty so she pushed it open and stepped through. She looked around, but ducked down and avoided the windows. Her instincts were screaming at her to find a corner and hide, but the adrenaline pumping in her body was hoping something would happen. She crossed the span of the room and spotted another door. She slowly pushed it open and her eyes came face to face with two deep pink and white eyes.

The jackal scout was frozen in shock and Rose didn't know how the alien creature would react. Rose's first instinct was that she was looking at some strange bird, but the creature was wearing clothes and bore technology unlike anything she had seen. It was close, too close, and if she wanted to she could have kissed it. Her heart raced and mind filled with possible ways out of this situation, but she knew that stealth was the key to getting beyond this point.

Rose blinked and the creature reared its head back. It opened its mouth as it raised a plasma rifle. Rose knew that it was going to yell, and she had to stop it. Before the creature could exhale, Rose had grabbed its snout and slapped the gun from its hand. The Jackal wasn't very strong, but it was stronger then she thought the thin creature would be. The jackal grabbed Rose by the arms and tried to free itself. It stood up fully and Rose realized that the oddly shaped creature was a few inches taller then she was. She dropped her rifle and quickly unbuckled her combat knife. The jackal grabbed her head and Rose's helmet fell off. She struggled to hold the creature's beak shut as it pulled and tugged her all over the room. The knife finally came free and she swung the blade blindly. The knife struck the Jackal's throat and purple blood squirted on her side.

The Jackal stumbled backwards but still held onto Rose. She then charged the beast and ran her blade into the base of its jaw. The jackal's eyes rolled backwards as the blade penetrated through to its brain. The creature's lifeless body began to fall backwards and pulled Rose on top of itself. The body hit the ground and released Rose from its grip. She heard the soft gargle of air bubbles from the slash across its throat, and she let go of the creature's beak; leaving the knife deeply penetrated in its neck. She pushed away from the Jackal and slid into a corner and stared at it for several seconds before Marks walked into the room.

Marks walked up to the Jackal and kicked it while chuckling, "Stupid Jackal. You got him good, babe. It must have been a scout." He turned and looked at Rose as she sat frozen in the corner; her eyes focused on the lifeless corpse in front of her. "Hey babe, you killed it. Don't sweat the knife work, it's a bloody way to kill'em, but affective." Marks reached down and yanked the blade from the Jackal's throat, and the creature's leg twitched. Rose sprang up from the corner and took the knife out of Marks' hand, and with one continuous movement she jammed the blade into the jackal's head. Two more marines had walked in and saw the display. They were impressed with Rose's speed. "It's dead, babe." Marks commented, but Rose didn't care.

Rose's eyes were fixed on the Jackal's face. She couldn't turn away. She had killed the invader with her own bare hands, and instead of being horrified she felt a since of joy. She was exasperated that the creature had invaded her home, and killed many of her kind. Rose smirked at the blood that dripped from the dead Jackal's head. The creature's life was in her hands, and she took it; killing the creature was an almost pleasurable feeling.

Wesley and the rest of the fire team walked into the room as Rose hovered over the lifeless corpse. She twisted the blade in the Jackal's skull and then forcefully ripped it out. She wiped the purple blood drenched blade on her pant leg, and jammed her combat knife into its sheath.

"Move people." Wesley softly muttered to the team as he walked into the room. Time was still crucial, but he was wondering what had happened. The team had gathered around Rose and she was hovering over a dead jackal. Marks took point and lead the fire team through the rest of the building as Rose picked up her battle rifle and helmet. "What happened?" Wesley questioned to Rose.

Rose adjusted the strap on her helmet and replied; "I got my first kill." Wesley saw the wicked gleam in her eyes. All of Rose's fears were gone, and he could see that she was now anxious. Very few marines actually stared into the eyes of the enemies after they had made the kill. Rose had peered into her victim's eyes as it died, and it left her with a sense of gratification. Death is not the type of thing someone should enjoy seeing, no matter how angry they are. Wesley didn't like the look in Rose's eyes, but he ignored it, for now. Wesley and his fire team pushed on and eventually reached their destination, which was the rear of the Brute formation.

Eric stepped up and put a round into a Brute's thick hide. The beast seemed unaffected by the shots and pointed his Brute shot at Eric's position. Two massive blasts exploded just beyond the smoldering car that Eric was hiding behind, and the explosion tossed him back. His team rallied to his aid and buried the Brute under constant fire. Eric sprang to his feet and ignored the ringing in his ears. The Brutes were pushing hard, and the Jackals were putting up an impressive defense. Eric's team was at a stand still, but that was all they wanted to do. They were buying time and it had paid off.

Explosions began to scatter throughout the Brute's formation, and their line was broken. Jackals began screaming and running in all directions. The Brutes began to turn on each other, thinking that their own team was shooting at them, and by the time they realized what was happening their numbers were cut in half. Brutes fell lifeless to the ground as Wesley's quick eye sliced his sniper rounds through their heads with pinpoint precision. Eric spotted the signal, a red light flashing at the rear of the Brutes formation. He pulled out his light stick and replied to the signal. His com would have been much easier to use, but orders were orders. During firefights the com channels were to remain closed until the area was secured. This was because the covenant was notorious for sniffing UNSC radio bands.

"Move in, leathernecks!" Eric shouted. The Brutes were pinned down and surrounded. Wesley and his sniper rifle put down any Brutes with heavy weapons, and his team charged the rear of the Brute's lines. Jackals tried to take cover behind their shields, but found it nearly impossible as gunfire came from front and behind.

Eric led his fire team and he quickly readjusted his aim. With three quick bursts from his rifle he split the heads of two Brutes and a Jackal. The Brutes were hard to take down, but head shots made them as weak as Grunts. Eric took cover and reloaded his rifle as the rest of his team pushed on. He then turned and continued his charge and spotted the second fire team coming from the opposite side of the Brute's formation. Oddly enough, Rose was leading the charge.

Rose fired her battle rifle as best she could, and while her aim was not the best, she made up for it with aggression and repetitive shots. She emptied a clip into a Brute and it crumbled under its own weight. Another Brute began to pound the ground in frustration and charged at Rose.

The Brute was barreling toward her with a mad rage, but Rose never took her eyes off of the massive beast. She popped the empty clip from the riffle and let it freefall to the ground. She reached around to her ammo pouch and pulled out another magazine. She smoothly jammed the fresh clip into the rifle and ripped down the hammer. Other marines were firing into the beast's hide, but the enraged Brute ignored the burning in its flesh and growled with determination to kill the human that was in its sights.

Wesley spotted the Beast as it ran toward Rose, but his sniper rifle was empty. He struggled to get another clip out and angrily cursed under his breath that he let Rose run out into combat.

Eric ran through the enemy line as he watched Rose reload her rifle. He kicked a nearby jackal and ran passed it. The other marines were supplying Rose with cover fire but the Brute simply ignored the shots. Eric ran as hard and as fast as he could. He pulled up his rifle and took aim, but he could only get a clear shot at the Brutes back, which would only piss off the beast more. Eric knew that only a head shot would drop the enraged beast, and even though every marine in Wesley's team was shooting at it, it would take several rounds to kill it. He cursed to himself that he didn't warn his squad about how to bring down Brutes.

Rose released the hammer and the rifle's ammo counter sprang to life. 36 displayed on the screen and Rose raised the gun. Taking aim at the massive ball of fur and muscle that was about to steam roll her into the pavement. Rose roughly calculated the beast's weight and speed. It was coming at her fast and it would surely kill her if it hit her. The Beast lunged out and Rose rolled to her side. The Brute missed Rose completely and couldn't stop its forward momentum. Rose raised her gun and fired several rounds into the creature's side, but it continued to turn and ran back at her. It was fast but too heavy to make sharp turns. Rose took aim again but a sudden snap rang past her ears and the Brute fell to the ground lifeless. Rose turned and saw Eric lower his gun slightly, but he quickly turned around and rejoined the fight.

"Nice shot, Serge!" Marks shouted as he ran to Eric's side. The two teams converged on the remaining Brutes and Jackals and made short work of them. Rose spotted two Jackals trying to flee the scene and cautiously took aim. She zoomed in on the scope and took aim at the Jackal's heads; killing them from a distance. She didn't waste ammo that time, and realized that her aim would have to improve if she was going to live through the war. Wesley came down from his snipping position and jogged to her side.

"You ok?" Wesley asked softly.

"Just a little pissed." Rose replied. "I've never shot a gun before, and I thought it would be easier. I really need to work on my aim." Rose dipped the riffle barrel onto her shoulder and walked toward Eric and the rest of Red Squad. Wesley was taken back by her words. He expected her to be fearful, because she should have realized that she almost died. One swipe from that Brute's massive arms would have been enough to kill her, but she seemed unaffected by it. Wesley straddled his sniper rifle over his shoulder and followed Rose toward the squad.

"Hey Serge, the area is secure." Wesley shouted. "And I got six kills; all Brutes!" Wesley laughed.

"You want a prize?" Eric replied sarcastically. "Fan out the squad and clean up any stragglers. Belinski, get your ass over here with that scrambler." Eric shouted. A young white man with red hair trotted to Eric's side. He shouldered his radio and pressed a series of key strokes.

Wesley stepped up to the rest of the squad and stated, "Fan out by twos and cover a one block radius from the LZ. Sound off if you hear anything." The marines paired off and headed into all directions. Rose stuck with Wesley and they walked directly up the road where they had started their attack on the Brute's rear flank. They stepped over the fallen bodies of brutes and jackals in silence, and kept a sharp lookout for covenant reinforcements. It was dark in the shadows of the buildings and Wesley peered into the depths of them. He and his team had just left that dark alley so he wasn't too concerned with it. Wesley wanted the sun to come up and began to feel a little worried about the darkness. Rose remained silent and thumbed the safety of her rifle on and off.

"All signals scramble, serge." Belinski stated. "You can transmit now." Eric placed his hand on his helmet and tapped a small, nearly invisible, button.

"This is Red Squad to platoon, all's clear." Eric stated into his com. "The LZ is an open skirt, fall in anytime." There was no reply, but suddenly eight pelicans appeared in the sky. The dark exteriors of the pelicans meshed with the nighttime sky. They turned on their exterior lights, making themselves visible as they descended onto the landing zone. The first pelican landed and several marines sprinted from the ramp. Lieutenant Jason then stepped out and saluted Eric. The other pelicans landed and begin dropping their heavy cargo of tanks and warthogs, before they too descended to the ground.

"Damn good job." Jason shouted. "Any casualties?"

"About three wounded with minor plasma burns in my fire team." Eric stated. "Not sure about Wesley's team. Nobody seemed severally injured, so we can patch them up after the area is secure. The squad held up pretty fine considering this was their first real battle."

"What about the woman?" Jason questioned. "She's never really trained for this."

"Rose?" Eric pondered. "No need to worry about her. She had a close call back there, but she's tough. She can hold her own." Eric stated. He looked over the area and spotted Wesley and Rose surveying the dark alleys. He could barely see them through the dimly lit street of the city, but he could recognize Rose's hips a mile away. She was walking casually, which Eric thought was odd considering the battle that just happened. Her loose sway meant that she was relaxed, and no longer scared.

"Call in your privates and chief warrants, Eric." Jason quickly stated. "I got some news, for your squad." Eric looked at Jason with a crooked gleam, because he knew what was coming next. Most likely, Jason had already received news from the higher ups, and it was probably a new mission.

Eric tapped his helmet com twice and stated, "Wesley, Rose, Peters, and Hicks, fall back to the LZ for debriefing, double time. Red squad, maintain perimeter check." Eric tapped the com again and it went dead. Eric spotted Rose and Wesley as they approached, and he noticed that Rose had a purple blood stains on her armor. She had a really close call, but luckily came out of it alive.

"You'll never get that stain out." Eric commented to Rose. "Any injuries?"

"Only my pride, sir." Rose stated with a smile. Rose was glad to hear Eric say something nice, instead of hearing him bark orders the way he had been for the past 14 hours. She wanted him to be proud of her, but the fact that he saved her from the brute began to nag at her. She didn't want to slow him down, and she didn't want Eric to get injured because he was trying to save her. She didn't want to be weak.

The more Rose thought about being the weak link in the squad, the heavier her expression became. She slowly started to sulk. Eric noticed the change in expression, but for now he had to ignore it. Sergeant Justin Rodgers of Blue squad ran up to the group and nodded to Jason.

"Now that we're all here." Jason added. Jason was looking nervous, and Eric could see that he was bothered about something. "We'll need to clear this area for at least three more blocks. The UNSC wants to use this area as a stronghold to take back this covenant beachhead. We've got a division in route, so it's going to get crowded here. But you'll be glad to know that we already have our next assignment." Jason nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Don't hold out on me now, Jason." Eric smirked. "Just say it." Jason pointed toward the center of the city and then up into the sky. His finger stopped on the smooth lines of the covenant cruiser.

"The UNSC wants that ship." Jason sighed. "Our Platoon has been ordered to breach it, and seize command. But, we're getting assistance from the UNSC brass. Apparently, they think we need help."

"Well that's just great." Eric laughed. He knew that going against a covenant cruiser, and its full compliment, was a suicide mission. "Are they going to pull a Spartan out of their hat?"

"Yup." Jason grinned. Eric could only cock his eyebrow in disbelief.

_**To be continued…**_


	5. Did somebody order a 7 foot tank with le...

**Stage 5: Did somebody order a 7 foot tank with legs?**

Northern Suez Canal;  
UNSC controlled grounds  
06:00 October 21, 2552  
Port Said, Egypt

The pelican slowly descended to the ground as the sun quietly rose into the eastern horizon. The engines cut and the sole passenger exited the rear. The Spartan had caught a ride with a cargo shipment that was inbound to the area. His deep green MJOLNIR Mark VI armor was covered with black scars and burns; a clear sign of the battles he had experienced. He exited the landing area and walked toward the heart of the camp.

Activity within the camp was heavy, as marines and orbital drop shock troopers (ODST) formed small teams to infiltrate the city and gain back as much land as possible. There was no indication of covenant forces within the area of the camp, but the smooth silver hull of the Covenant cruiser loomed in the distance. The Spartan spotted several senior officers sipping coffee near a tent and decided that he'd begin his search with them.

The four officers spotted the massive man walking toward them. His battle scars and battle armor gave a horrifying, yet relaxed mood within the officers. They were somewhat grateful to see the Spartan, knowing full well of their abilities in combat. The four officers saluted the Spartan and he quickly snapped one back.

"I'm looking for Red squad, within Platoon 34." The Spartan stated to the group of men. The men simply pointed toward a building in the center of the camp. The structure was still intact and was being used as the R and R barracks for the camp. The Spartan nodded and walked toward the building.

He opened the door and entered. He was shocked to see two marines asleep on a couch, and a third about to fall asleep. He walked to the partially conscious soldier and tapped him on the shoulder. The marine looked up and took a double take. He quickly exploded from his seat and saluted the Spartan. He then threw a cup of water at the two men on the couch. They both jumped up in shock and then noticed the Spartan; saluting quickly.

"Sorry, sir." The marine at the desk stated. "We haven't had much down time since the covenant attack."

"No problem." The Spartan replied. "I'm looking for Red squad, within Platoon 34."

"Yes, sir." The marine returned. "Third floor sir, but they're probably still asleep. They took this area this morning after a 12 hour fly from Mombasa. The Colonel gave them the night to sleep." The Spartan didn't reply. He walked toward the stair well and ventured to the third floor. The three marines exhaled and sighed. "Damn he was huge." The marine gasped.

The Spartan opened the door and walked into the room. Oddly enough, only one person was awake. A dark haired woman sat on the window sill and twirled a knife in her hand. She was clearly on edge and the Spartan noted that she looked much older then the rest of the young soldiers in the room. The woman spotted him and quickly walked his way.

Rose was in awe of seeing the Mark VI armor standing in front of her. She did loops around the Spartan and ignored his attempt to salute. She grabbed his arm and looked over the wrist units.

"Wow, looks like you did some field repairs on this." Rose stated firmly. "When you have a second, I'd like to check it out." Rose was exuberant about seeing what combat had done to her units, but then noticed that he hadn't received the updated versions yet. "You should've been issued replacements for this unit. But I guess you haven't had time."

"Attention, soldier!" The Spartan snapped. Rose jumped back and froze. The man's massive voice echoed into the room and woke the rest of the squad. Rose finally realized that the man was massive. He stood nearly seven feet tall and his waist was wider then she was. He was a mountain compared to her. "I can understand your excitement, but show the proper protocol win speaking to an officer."

"Sorry, uhh, sir!" Rose stuttered. "I'm a new recruit."

"No matter." The Spartan returned. "Where's your CO?"

Wesley cut in quickly saying, "He's over here, chief." He pulled Rose to the side. Wesley saluted the Spartan and walked to the back of the room. Rose quietly followed while the rest of red squad watched in quiet awe.

"Sergeant, there's a tank here to see you." Wesley chuckled. The Spartan walked around the corner and spotted Eric sitting at a table looking over a map of the city. The Spartan noted that the man looked as though he hadn't slept in a while, not good considering the mission they were about to tackle. Spartans were trained to go days, even a week without sleep if necessary, but most marines would crack under roughly 72 hours of action and sleep deprivation.

Eric stood and snapped a loose salute to the Spartan, the Spartan returned the gesture.

"Sergeant Eric Raynord, Red squad." Eric stated.

"Chief Petty officer Spartan 043, assuming command." The Spartan quickly stated.

"Sure." Eric stated with a chuckle. "When do we go, chief?"

"First things first, how bout you get your men in here and tell them your plan." The Spartan added. Eric looked confused for a moment and waited for an explanation. He thought that the Spartan would start barking orders, not letting him give the mission details. "You know this terrain better then I, sergeant."

"I see." Eric curiously stated. "You sure about this, chief? I was told that this was your mission." The Spartan cringed at being called 'chief', but ignored it.

"You've been up for quite some time looking over that map." The Spartan stated. "And you're an ONI officer, or at least you were."

"How the hell…" Eric began to question.

"ONI officers get soft after a year or two of office work." The Spartan stated. "Your solute was loose, not crisp like marines. You most likely have a sharp mind if ONI pulled you in, so I can assume you already have a clear plan on getting in and taking that ship." Will felt a little awkward about talking so much to the marines, but knew he had to get the ball rolling.

Spartan-043, or Will, was one of the three surviving Spartans from Reach. He was quickly put back into active duty after returning to Earth, but when the high Prophet of Regret attacked, they were quickly stationed around Earth in critical areas. Will didn't like that the UNSC was keeping secrets, but the locations that they were sent to 'guard' were considered Black-Ops confidential. ONI new something about the attacks, and Will didn't like it, but he had his orders.

The covenant had been doing a lot of weird things lately and this was one of them. Why send an attack force to land on the home world of your enemy, fully knowing that they have you outnumbered? Will had been pondering the question for hours and still couldn't figure it out. The covenant's battle tactics had once again changed, but he had a hunch that the ONI officials knew what was going on. The UNSC brass had sent Linda and Fred to remote locations across the Earth as well, but these locations weren't military facilities. Nothing about this seemed right. He was the closest Spartan in the area of Port Said, and the UNSC gave him quick instructions to meet up with the squad, take the ship, and report back to his guard station south of Iran.

Eric stared in disbelief that the Spartan picked up on such minute details. Will was fortunate enough to pick up some intelligence by watching several ONI officers at HighCom when he and the other Spartans made it to Earth. Since then, he took notice of the differences in stance and attitude amongst the Marines and ONI officers. It was a trick that the Master Chief had taught them long ago; to watch and learn the differences between all officers. From Marine to ODST, and from ONI to UNSC top brass; learn from their actions, the Master Chief had told them, that way you will know how to position them in combat. Will was aware that ONI officers were great at planning, calculating and gathering recon on the field. He knew that the sergeant was perfect for putting the mission together. Will noticed that Eric was waving the marines closer to his table, so he shut off his thoughts and focused in on Eric's discussion.

"The city has one primary spine; the canal." Eric stated to the group. "From what I gather, most marine advances during the initial assault were along the roads and highways. I radioed out earlier and got a recon from the satellite thanks to HighCom. As I expected, the canal is clear and runs beneath the aft end of the covenant cruiser. Only problem is that the current is running the opposite way we need to go. Any form of watercraft would be instantly spotted. But that canal is the only way to get close. All forces that have made any type of advance toward that ship by land have been neutralized."

The marines sat quietly, pondering how they were going to do what the entire local brigade failed to do.

"Also, there have been no signs of Elite or Hunters." Eric added. "HighCom released info this morning that only Brutes, Drones and Jackals seem to be amongst the ground forces."

"What's that all about?" Wesley questioned aloud. "I thought the Elites thrived in battle, why would they miss this?" Everyone agreed.

"No clue, Private." Eric answered. "But no matter, that makes things easier. With the Elites out of the picture we only need to worry about those damned Brutes. Their big and ugly, but not nearly as smart on the battlefield as the Elites. I don't know why the prophets would pull the Elites off the battlefield in exchange for those stupid apes." Eric shook his head but then realized he was getting off topic. "The canal is eighty feet deep in this section. We need to find a way to use this."

"Perhaps you're on to something, sergeant." Will stated; his voice sounding off through his external microphone. The Spartan walked to the table and looked the map over. "Perhaps we don't have to use the water way itself. This road that is running along the canal bank, does it have a sewer system?" Eric pressed a button on his data pad and a menu came up. He entered a key sequence and the map shifted to a blue print of the city sewer system.

"Says here the Environment Act of 2112, forced Port Said to install a separate drainage system runoff from the city." Eric added. "The tunnel itself is pretty old, probably hasn't been maintained in a few hundred years. But the map layout is recent. It was last updated in 2530. I don't see any brakes in the tunnel, or cave ins. Look's like you're on to something Chief."

"Please, call me Will or Spartan 043." Will stated. He didn't want to be referenced in the same likeness of the Master Chief; he didn't feel worthy of it.

"Will?" Eric questioned with a soft chuckle. "I guess you are human under all that metal."

"How big is that drain?" Will returned.

"Only 5 feet in diameter, so it'll be a tight walk." Eric replied. "This should go smoothly and we won't have to change my original plan. Second Platoon will run a diversion storming up the center street. Will be in the rear of their advance and break off once we're within a mile of that ship." Eric zoomed in a section of the city were the squad would break off from the assault. "This drain here will be our entry. It'll be a one mile hike, and once we reach that cruiser we won't be able to communicate. We'll have to order an air strike before we hit the drain. That means we need to give ourselves a seven minute countdown from the moment we hit the tunnel to the moment we reach that cruiser."

"I assume the air strike will be our cover to sneak into the ship?" Will questioned.

"Yeah, they'll hit the exterior of the cruiser forcing all eyes up, while we sneak into the grav-lift." Eric replied. "Once inside, we're on our own, so our first priority is to shut down the covenant's ship wide com system, then their docking security. Once the docking security is down we can call for platoon drops inside the ship. From their, we run the show and take full control of the vessel."

"ONI gave me a little toy to take care of the ship systems." Will stated. "Once inside, all I need is a computer terminal."

Wesley quickly chimed in, "So the first half of the mission is stealth, a one mile run in the dark, and then jumping into the belly of that beast. This is going to get messy."

"I hope you've all become socially connected to your gear." Eric added. "You'll have to carry a full pack for this." Eric looked at Rose and noticed she was thinking heavily on the idea. Rose was physically fit, and in great shape for someone that didn't need to be. She would workout often and ran whenever she could, but she had never run with fifty pounds of gear on her back. Of everything Rose would need to experience in combat, a full gear run would be the toughest. Her stamina would have to be controlled during the run so that she would have energy for the battle ahead. It was a hard task for someone not trained for it, but Rose had surpassed all his expectations so far.

"Is that it, serge?" Wesley questioned. Eric looked at Will, realizing that he had been looking at Rose for quite some time, and nodded. "Ok people, bag and prep. We roll in…" Wesley looked at Eric and waited for a reply.

"One hour." Eric noted. "I'll contact the fly boys to get an air strike ready." The marines began to file out of the small corner room and Will was not far behind. But Eric quickly called out, "Rose, I need to speak with you a moment."

Wesley paused as the rest of the Red Squad passed him by. Once the Spartan had passed he walked back into the room with Eric and Rose. Eric gave him a quick look and Wesley realized that he wanted privacy. He walked away and began to pack his gear.

"Are you alright?" Eric questioned. Rose lowered her head and didn't reply. "The first time is tough on anyone, but you seem to be handling it rather well, but I know how you like to hide things. This is the only chance I can give you to open up. The next few hours will be hellish." Rose looked up with a stern face and gazed at Eric.

"I'm not going to let you down, sir." Rose stated calmly. "I won't slow down the squad, if I do, then leave me behind."

Eric chuckled, "I've known you far too long for you to try and pull this brave act. You're scared, but you don't want to admit it. We're all scared Rose, but that's not what I want to know."

"Then what, sir?" Rose questioned.

"Cut the 'sir' crap." Eric replied. "Something happened when you broke off with Wesley's team last night. What happened?"

"I killed a jackal." Rose replied. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she recalled what happened. "I thought killing would be hard, but I didn't hesitate. If I had fought while we were in the lab, then maybe… maybe things would have turned out differently. I didn't even try back then, and now we're being given the hardest assignments on the front line. It's my fault we're here. Our chances of surviving this war are nearly zero, but I'm going to give it my all. I'm not scared of them, Eric. I'll fight. Just tell me what to do."

Rose had walked across the room while she talked, and Eric hadn't noticed how close she was until he was actually looking down at the top of her head. She was practically standing beneath him. His 6 foot frame shadowed her tiny 5 foot 5 body. Eric placed his hand on her shoulder and gingerly pushed her back a few inches. He held her at arms length and looked down at her, as she softly looked back at him.

"Still trying to be the best at everything you do, aren't you?" Eric questioned. "This isn't college, and this isn't a carrier goal. You aren't trying to climb the corporate ladder. This is war, and you're doing fine." Eric looked up and noticed that Wesley was standing in the door. His somewhat peaceful moment was quickly snapped back into reality.

"Sir, it's time to debrief the rest Second Platoon." Wesley stated with a heavy expression. The sight of seeing Rose and Eric so close together, was somewhat unsettling to him. "The LT is waiting for info and we need to order that air strike."

Eric sighed as he looked back at Rose. She was staring at him, waiting for him to say more, but he couldn't. His duty was calling and people's lives were depending on him.

"Rose, pack your gear." Eric stated sharply, his tone changing back to that of a squad sergeant. "Wesley, give her a hand, but make the pack as light as you feasibly can."

"Eric." Rose stated. "Promise me that if I fall behind, you won't do what you did last night." Rose looked up at Eric and wouldn't leave until she heard a reply. "Don't try to save me anymore."

"I'll protect my squad, Rose. That includes you." Eric returned.

"This isn't the work force, Rose." Wesley jumped in. "If you're in trouble, you could die. As a squad we cover each other…"

"I don't want anyone to die because of me." Rose strongly stated. "Eric, promise me!"

"Chief Warrant Officer Roselyn Santos, pack your gear and prep for the mission." Eric stated strongly. This was no longer Rose's domain. She was no longer his boss in the ONI lab. This was a battlefield, and as much as Eric wanted to ease her concerns, he was not about to tell her that he wouldn't die for her. "Dismissed, soldier."

"No, SIR!" Rose returned. She snapped. She shouted. She didn't like the tone she took with Eric but she didn't want him to die for her, not after all he had done for her and all the pain she had put him through. "I asked you not to join the military to fight in this war, I asked you not to go into space, but you did it anyway. I'm not worth it, Eric! Don't…"

"Private, escort Rose out of my sight, now!" Eric stated, cutting across Rose's words. By now the whole squad could hear the roar coming from the two of them.

"Sir!" Wesley replied. He grabbed Rose by the shoulder and pulled her forcefully from the room. He dragged her into the front and sat her down. She was upset, severely upset. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing." Rose replied. She didn't want to tell Wesley that her old feelings for Eric were coming back to the surface; the good and bad ones. She had met Eric during their freshman year in college, but he dropped out to join the war. She hated that he did that, and when he was shipped off to fight on the colonies, she thought she would never see him again. Eric had told her that he was fighting for her, that he wanted to protect her. She didn't want to remember those days. She didn't want to remember their freshman year, their only year together. She pushed the thoughts as deeply into her mind as she could. She focused on her pack and began rummaging through it. "What do I need to do, Wesley? And don't lighten it, I can hold my own."

* * *

Northern Suez Canal;  
West canal bank at Covenant Beachhead  
07:15 October 21, 2552  
Port Said, Egypt

Second Platoon thundered down the road. Four Scorpion Tanks, eight Warthogs, and two Pelicans gave a clear signal to the covenant forces that a major battle was headed their way. The platoon scattered and spread throughout the area. One tank with two warthogs, as the marines rallied toward the enemy. Brutes and jackals returned fire into the platoon's divided lines. This was a serious offensive and second platoon new that they couldn't back down. Banche's arched and dived across the sky as the marines of second platoon ran head first into the southern defense of the covenant beachhead. The mortar fire of wraith tanks sent debris in all directions. Scorpion tanks pounded the neighboring buildings which were filled with sniping jackals and nested drones.

To the rear of the lines, Red Squad split off from the initial assault and sprinted to nearby storm drain which was settled next to the Suez Canal waterway. Will, the nearly seven foot tall Spartan, sprinted ahead and yanked the drain cover off with one hand. He tossed the heavy metal grate to the side with little effort and jumped into the hole. He peered into the dark drainage system and his helmet automatically compensated to the darkness.

"All's clear, sergeant." Will stated to Eric. "I'll push ahead, you have the squad."

"We're right behind you." Eric replied. The Spartan leaned over and began a hunched sprint down the tunnel. His helmet display flashed a NAV marker and counted down the distance to the exit drain. The rest of Red Squad filed into the drain, but couldn't keep up with the Spartan's speed; even hunched over he was twice as fast as anyone in the squad.

Will went ahead to make sure that the coast was clear, and his night vision would warn him of any traps or scouts in the tunnel. Wesley was the first Marine to fallow while Rose and Marks pulled up the middle. Belinski and Chief Warrant officer Melanie Peters held up the rear with Eric. They surveyed the area to make sure that they weren't spotted and each jumped into the tunnel. Belinski, the communications warrant, nodded his head to Eric; giving him the clear to transmit.

"This is Red Squad." Eric replied. "The rats are in the maze. Give us seven minutes to exit." There was no reply but that was to be expected. Belinski pocketed the scrambler and hunched over into a sprint, followed by Roberts and Eric.

The tunnel was pitch-black and was dotted with occasional lights from the grates overhead, but they were few and far between. It was saturated with humidity and trash littered every step that the marines took. Small puddles of water splashed with constant footsteps as Red Squad pushed along the path.

Wesley paced himself; 7 minutes to clear a mile. He could run a mile in 5 minutes, but hunched over and carrying a full pack was going to be tough.

Eric wanted more time for the squad to clear the distance, but he had to consider that second Platoon was going to be engaged with the enemy the full time. If second platoon had to retreat then the mission would have to be scrubbed. Seven minutes was his worst time ever running a mile and he was nearly fifteen years older then any of the kids in the squad. If he could do it in 7 minutes, then anyone in his squad could do it, but he had his doubts about Rose.

Nearly 3 minutes into the dark run and rose was already beginning to feel the weight on her back. Her legs were getting tight and her stomach muscles were burning from the awkward position she was in. She began to slow down as she thought about the weight on her back, but she drowned out the thought and focused on the marine in front of her. She focused on her breathing, and lifting her knees. But most importantly she had to keep breathing.

Wesley looked ahead and realized that he could no longer see the Spartan at all. But he knew that several minutes had passed and eventually they would be at the end. He was getting tired and the pack on his back kept scraping the roof of the tunnel. He stepped on a rat and nearly lost his balance, but caught himself before tumbling to the ground. He looked up and saw the Spartan looking back at him. Finally they had reached the end. He doubled his pace and took a knee beside the Spartan. His lungs burned and his back muscles were horribly tight, he wanted to lye down and let his back relax but there was no time. He removed his Oracle scope from his rifle and peeped through the grate.

"The squad is coming." Will stated as he peered back down the tunnel with his enhanced vision. "I had my doubts with some of them." Wesley knelt back down and waved the soldiers to him. One by one they staggered to his position, but some were faring better then others. He spotted Rose as she nearly collapsed when she stopped. She was struggling to breath and her legs were shacking. Soon the marines began counting from the rear, starting with Eric.

Rose was barely able to say, "11" without coughing.

Wesley then softly ended the count with, "20"and verified that the whole squad had arrived.

"21." Will chimed in softly. "With forty seconds to spare. Get your wind while you can everyone. The area is swarming with rear guards. We're one hundred yards from the grav-lift."

"I've got shades on every corner, but unmanned." Wesley added as he looked through his scope again, the covenant had deployed stationary plasma turret guns around the gravity lift. The odd shaped chair had three plasma turrets and was dubbed 'shades' by mostly all branches of the UNSC. "A dozen unmanned ghosts, and at least 3 spectres, also unmanned."

"This position is heavily fortified." Will added. "Don't let the unmanned weaponry fool you. They can arm them quick. When the bombs strike we move, do not delay. Run straight for the gravity lift." The marines passed the word down the line to Eric and he nodded his head in agreement. Marks patted Rose on the back as she struggled to get her breath. She was use to running, but the added weight, awkward hunched over run, and the added stress of combat made it nearly impossible to calm her breathing. She exhaled slowly and took deep breaths forcing her mind to regain control of her body.

Suddenly the tunnel rocked as an aerial bombardment impacted a nearby neighborhood and the covenant cruiser. The bombers knew not to aim toward the group's location, along the canal sewer line.

The bombardment was their signal. Will exploded through the grate, and rammed his combat knife into the back of a Brutes head. Two Jackals spotted the Spartan and shrieked in terror. Two more Brutes quickly spotted the squad as they all sprang from the tunnel. One by one the alien invaders turned their weapons on the group of humans that sprinted toward the purple haze of the gravity lift.

The Spartan was spotted by several Brutes and most of them were cautious on how to handle the human warrior.

"The Demon is here?" A Brute roared, but he was quickly silenced by a full round from Eric's battle rifle. There was no need to be silent anymore; their presence had been detected by a few dozen troops.

"Move people!" Eric shouted as he took down two Brutes and a Jackal in succession. "Wesley, get the squad to the gravity lift! GO!" Battle riffle and submachine gun's chimed in the air as marines from Red Squad shot down any covenant foe that came too close to their path toward the gravity lift. They were outnumbered and out gunned but so far the bombers were doing a good job distracting the majority of the covenant forces. They gunfire from the marines was drowned out by the explosion from above.

Eric slowly pulled up the rear, assisted by the Spartan. Will's aim was as precise as Eric's and one by one they took down anything that came into range. The staggered backward, coving the rear of the squad. The marines were at full stride toward the gravity lift, and the covenant forces weren't advancing for fear of being taken down by Eric and Will's deadly aim.

Will spotted a Brute near a communications array and lobbed a grenade. The array exploded and fried the Brute that was trying to radio for assistance. The overhead bombardment suddenly ended and the only noise left in the area was the three burst shots of human battle rifles. The racket gained the attention of the remaining covenant forces in the area and they all focused in on the small squad that was sprinting up the street toward the gravity lift. The situation suddenly changed. With the added support of more Brutes the covenant forces were now eager to kill the Spartan that they mistook to be the Demon that destroyed their holy ring. But the Demon's reputation made them hesitate; none of them wanted to attack Spartan head on.

Will and Eric were laying down standard suppression fire as they quickly followed their squad. Wesley was now in a full sprint up the street. He quickly unbuckled his magnum from his hip holster and took aim at a few jackals standing next to the lift. His rounds bounced harmlessly off their shields as plasma began streaking towards him. A grenade soared over his head and the explosion sent the jackals screaming into separate directions. Wesley didn't care who threw the grenade, he only knew that he had to run faster. A plasma burst hit him in the leg and he cringed in pain. He doubled over but rolled to his feet and kept moving.

Rose was sprinting hard toward the gravity lift when she saw Wesley fall. She gasped but relaxed when Wesley jumped up and kept running. She pulled up her battle riffle, and took aim at the brute that was taking shots at the squad as they ran by. She began to side step but maintained her gaze at the head of the beast. She was still moving at a full sprint when she squeezed the trigger. Three bursts exploded from the barrel and slammed through the side of the Brutes face. The beast exhaled as it slammed into the ground. She turned and raced toward the gravity lift. Wesley and several other marines were waiting just beyond the purple glow. They had turned and were firing back at the jackals that were swarming down the street. Rose reached the lift and turned to assist in the firefight when she felt a surge of pain shoot up her side.

She thought she was hit, but the pain was internal. She knew the feeling well and quickly struggled against it. Her body was reacting from the physical strain. Her lungs were tight, and her heart was racing madly. She was winded and her muscles were cramping, her body was beginning to asphyxiate. She was pushing too hard, and not getting enough oxygen. She had just sprinted one hundred yards and hadn't fully recovered from the one mile run. She hadn't pushed herself this hard since her collage days, and her body was shutting down. She had to fight it, she had to breathe and shoot. But she knew the first sign; she was going to black out. She took aim and fired wildly. She saw the Spartan and Eric running down the street toward her and they were being chased by a dozen Brutes. She had to fight it, she had to focus, and she didn't want to fail her squad. Her head became light, her gun was becoming nearly impossible to hold, her vision began to blur, and her body slowly shut down.

"First team, move in!" Wesley shouted. He reached out and grabbed Rose's backpack as she slumped forward, and passed out. He pulled her into the gravity lift as plasma bursts exploded around them from all directions. "Second team; maintain covering fire for the serge." Wesley shouted as his first team was raised into the heart of the covenant cruiser.

The Spartan turned and dropped two grenades at the charging line of Brutes, while Eric turned and took head shots at them. They reached the gravity lift and jumped inside, along with the rest of Red Squad, and were lifted into the ship. Had it not been for the Will's mistaken identity as the Master Chief, and the nervousness it created amongst the Brutes, the mission would have failed. The only thing that kept the Brutes from fully charging at the humans was the Spartan that ran along side them.

But the mission wasn't over.

**_To be continued…_**


	6. Legendary

**Stage 6: "Legendary"**

**Location:** Unknown  
**Time:** 02:58 October 21, 2552  
**Transmission Origin:** Unknown  
**From:  
**ONI Section III; Research and Black Operations  
Major Elizabeth Rawlings: Head of Artifacts and Forerunner Technology Research Committee  
**Recipient:** Chief Petty Officer Spartan 043  
**Encryption:** Level 9

"_Surprisingly, they successfully infiltrated Port Said. If the traitors can acquire that ship then we may have the chance we were looking for. _

"_Spartan, take the AI program and use it to take over that ship. Red Squad will assist you once you arrive. When full control of the vessel is obtained you will return to this facility, we need you here. Eric Raynord is a skilled man, and he can lead this mission if he survives the assault. Where they're going, they may not return, so you must remain and protect that facility at all cost. Time is of the essence, Spartan. We can not afford to have you gone for too much time. If the Covenant find the location of your facility within Camp Eden… no telling what our fate may be._

"_You have your orders Chief Petty Officers."_

…**End transmission**

* * *

Northern Suez Canal;  
Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
07:33 October 21, 2552  
Port Said, Egypt

Explosions rocked around Wesley and his fire team, as brutes and jackals converged on the primary cargo hold of the Life and Sacrifice. The ten marines were pinned down as plasma and grenades poured upon them.

"Wesley, what the…"

"Regroup!"

"Their all over us… there's no cover."

"Move to the wall!"

"Stupid ape bastards!"

"Regan fall in!"

"Regan get over here!"

Wesley's fire team managed to slip through a small gap in the brute's offensive and positioned themselves in a corner. But the group was still under heavy fire.

"Wesley, where's Brian?"

"Brian's dead! We're all going to die!"

"Shut up and shoot!"

Wesley was loosing control of his team; they were panicking. He tucked Rose's unconscious body into the corner behind him and blurted out orders as best he could.

"Fall back by pairs to the rear wall! Use the wraith as cover and take down any brute with a grenade in his hand!"

"Brian isn't dead! Look, he's moving!"

"He's cut off. Brian, over here!"

"OH god!"

"Jesus, that brute bit his head off…"

Wesley had to maintain some form of calm in his team. But the more he tried to gain control the more it seemed his team began to loose it. His fire team fired wildly into the brute and jackal advance as they tried to keep them at bay as best they could. But it was if they had stirred a hornet's nest.

"Sustain your fire and form up, damn it!"

"Take this you bastards!"

"Suppression fire, suppression fire!"

"Were the hell is the Serge and the rest of the squad? We're getting killed in here!"

"Shut up and fire!"

"Wesley, more incoming from the left… we're pinned down!"

Wesley turned and one of the doors in the cargo bay opened, and several more brutes and jackals raced in. The smell of burning metal from the sub machineguns and battle rifles was so thick that Wesley could taste it. He was running low on ideas.

"Give me some controlled grenade bursts to the left. Maintain heavy fire on the right!"

"Matt is dead! Damn you…"

"Gloria get back here! Gloria!"

"Shit, we're loosing it here!"

"I'm hit…"

"Incoming!"

"Where's the rest of the squad? Where is second team?"

The center of the massive cargo bay quickly began to glow with a purple haze, and a clear visual of the room was able to be seen. The ceiling rose nearly forty feet with a center doom. Tanks, Specters, and Ghosts cluttered the room as brutes and jackals took cover throughout. There were four visible doors into the room, and the Covenant forces were steadily flowing through them. The purple haze intensified and a formation of marines ascended through the circular gravity lift. A small bubble of intense purple light formed beneath the marines' feet and the metal doors of the lift sealed mere centimeters beneath them. The purple haze faded and marines all jolted the small distance to the floor.

The nine marines took a circular position around the gravity lift plate, all aiming outward, while Eric and the Spartan stood in the center.

"Fire at will!" Eric shouted. The marines all took aim and fired controlled bursts into the crowd of surrounding Covenant forces. But the sheer number of Covenant troops was overwhelming them. Eric's fire team was having a hard time holding the brutes at bay.

Eric took down several brutes with his battle rifle, looking constantly for his next target. He then spotted the torn remains of three marines scattered about the floor and then spotted Wesley's fire team. They were pinned down in a corner, and Rose seemed lifeless. Eric gathered his thoughts.

"Marines, hold formation, and move to the aft of this room." Eric ordered. Will quickly new what he was planning.

"Sergeant, move your men." Will stated. "I'll cover the left flank." The brutes were astonished to see the Spartan and the marines had the element of surprise on their side yet again. The Spartan tossed two grenades to the left side of the cargo bay, knocking three brutes off their feet. He then charged into a small group of dazed brutes as they slowly stood to their feet. The butt of the Spartan's riffle struck the back of one brute's head, another caught a short three round burst into his skull, and the third was impaled in the chest by his combat knife. The brute roared and grabbed Will by the shoulder. Will dragged the blade up the beast's massive chest and twisted the blade in its throat. The brute gargled as Will ripped his combat knife out of its neck and turned his attention elsewhere.

Eric and his squad swiftly, but cautiously, made their way to Wesley's fire team and cleared the right side of the room of enemy targets.

"Wesley, report." Eric stated.

"Thank God, Eric." Wesley moaned. "We're all pretty beat up. Gloria, Brian and Regan are dead. Several wounded. We couldn't form up in time. They were waiting for us to come up the lift."

"What happened to Rose?" Eric questioned. Several explosions rocked the room but Eric ignored it.

"Jesus, look at him go!" Marks shouted. Marks words got Eric's attention and he turned to see what was happening.

Will was going solo against what seemed to be an entire Covenant assault at his position. One by one brutes and jackals dropped lifeless to the ground. The Spartan took head shots, melee attacks and combat knife use to another level. Eric, and the marines, could only watch in awe. All the remaining Covenant forces in the room advanced toward the Spartan. The initial shock of seeing the Spartan had left the brutes, and now each of the beasts was determined to be known as the one which killed of the demon.

Plasma and brute shot grenades began to rain down toward the Spartan. Will took cover behind a Covenant ammo crate, knowing well that it could withstand the constant fire. He reloaded his rifle and held his combat knife in his free hand. He used the back of his left hand to support and balance the battle riffle and began to crouch-walk around the ammo crate. He twisted to his left as two plasma bursts seared over his head. He took aim and took down the two jackals with several shots from his rifle. He stood and relocated, but ran face first into a brute. The beast never had a chance to react as Will raised his knife and jammed it into its chin. Before the brute could scream, Will turned and fired controlled bursts into two more brutes. The last group of jackals was filled with terror as the last brute fell to the ground, and they quickly tried to run from the room.

"Wesley!" Eric shouted. Wesley had already pulled out his trusty sniper rifle, and he quickly put two rounds in the jackals' skulls. The room became deathly silent as Will's shields finally found the time to recharge. The golden static filled rings encircled him as he pulled the blade from the dead brute's chin.

"Salvage what you can." Eric shouted. "Marks, Melanie, Hicks, Belinski; cover those exits and make sure we don't have any uninvited guests before we can move out."

"Sir!" The four marines shouted. The marines quickly scattered throughout the room and began grabbing as much equipment as they could; refilling their gear or switching for Covenant weapons. The four marines that Eric had called out ran to the doors that outlined the corners of the cargo bay. They reached the doors and opened them, peering down the curving hallways of the cruisers interior.

"How's Rose?" Eric questioned as he turned back to Wesley.

"She passed out before we boarded." Wesley returned. "She was having a hard time getting her breathing under control." Wesley lifted Roses head and positioned her comfortably on her backpack.

"That run and sprint must have been too much for her." Eric stated. "She hasn't pushed herself this hard in a long time." Eric stood straight up and looked across the room to Rodney Hicks, one of the marines he had positioned at the door. "Hicks, get over here. Wesley, cover Hicks' post."

"But, Eric.." Wesley began to rebuke, but Eric gave him a sharp glare.

"You're not a medic, Private." Eric stated. "Move out." Wesley stood and ran off to the door. Hicks quickly ran over and looked over Rose.

"After you're done with her, check out any of the wounded." Eric stated as Hicks checked Rose's vitals.

"Will." Eric snapped toward the Spartan. "You're up. I hope that toy of yours works."

"Don't worry, she will." Will returned. He walked to a nearby control panel and the holographic display glowed to life.

"She?" Eric questioned as he walked to Will's side. Will placed his hand on a pad beneath the holographic image. A wave of static crossed his hand and Eric realized that he had just uploaded a program.

"Well now, looks like you got me here safely." A female voice stated through the terminal speaker. A tiny female face appeared on the display with long flowing blonde hair. "I had my doubts about this mission."

"You know what to do Siren." Will stated. Eric then realized that the she Will was referring too was an AI.

"Of course I do." Siren replied. "Security alarms are down. Security systems are down. On board weapons systems are down. The ship is now defenseless." There was a short pause and Siren stated, "Pathetic."

"What?" Eric and Will both questioned.

"The ships onboard AI is attempting to lock me out." Siren replied. "I wasn't expecting it to find me so soon. Cortana never said they could learn; she must have dumped that data or this AI is an upgrade. Spartan 043, you'll need to move me one more time. I don't plan to make the same mistake twice. Can't believe I miss calculated. Sorry for the delay in the mission, Sergeant."

"Fine." Will replied. "Where do you need to go?"

"The AI tried to lock me in the security and weapons subroutine." Siren Replied. "I have full control of security and ship wide weapons, but I'll need access to a secondary terminal in order to shut down that AI, and gain control of the ship."

"So what's going on here?" Eric questioned. "I wasn't told about an AI being involved."

"Sorry sergeant, we'll have to discuss it later." Siren stated. "Covenant patrols are checking in, and they're on their way here via the far right entrance. The left side entrance is clear."

"Let's roll marines." Eric shouted. He walked across the room to Hicks and Rose's position. "Hicks, wake her up."

"Roger that." Hicks stated. He opened a small container and placed it under Rose's nose. As she inhaled, the thick fumes from the container sent an instant shock into her system. Her nose felt as though it was on fire and her body instantly jolted awake. Rose rubbed her nose furiously and the sensation immediately vanished once Hicks pulled the container away.

"You're okay." Hicks calmly stated. "You're dehydrated, and slightly asphyxiated. Your body simply shut down to conserve energy to your vital systems."

"I … I know." Rose stuttered. She was finding it difficult to talk. "What's is the… the situation?"

"We made it inside." Eric quickly cut in. "But we have to move. Suck down some Prima and grip your rifle. Hicks, stay close to her."

"Yes sir." Hicks was already forcefully making Rose drink Prima, while at the same time he was tossing her arm onto his own shoulder.

Prima was a lifesaver for any marine on the battlefield. The red-pink liquid was an energy boost and re-hydrator substance that was given only to soldiers. Field medics carried it and were warned to only use it in extreme circumstance. The substance tasted horrible but would quickly nourish the body and one sip was equal to a full day's intake of water. But it could not be used as a commercial product, because if used improperly it could lead to immediate kidney failure; it would overload the body's ability to process fluids. However, for soldiers that were extremely exhausted and suffering from near death dehydration, one cup of Prima could save their lives.

Rose downed the small canister of Prima, and even though she felt the urge to vomit because of the taste, her body soaked up the thick liquid and she found that she didn't want to stop drinking it. Hicks stood Rose to her feet and carried her to the far side of the cargo bay where the majority of the marines were stationed. A small group of marines, including Eric, was pulling up the rear.

"Will, take that point." Eric shouted to the front of the squad. "Wesley, give the man some distance and follow his lead. Move it people, those apes are starting to sniff my ass." Eric looked back to the far side of the cargo bay and spotted a small group of brutes walk in. The Spartan was still getting use to being called by his name, but he found it better that they called him Will instead of William the way Dr. Halsey always addressed him. He was not happy about it, but the marines in this squad seemed to prefer calling him Will, perhaps because it made him feel more human to them. Will turned back to the holographic display and looked to Siren.

"I've already expanded most of my subroutines, so I will only upload my attack protocols into your suit." Siren stated softly to Will. "Don't worry, once you locate another command console, I can attack that Covenant AI and then release myself into the rest of the ship-wide systems. I'll make that AI regret …"

"Siren." Will stated sharply, realizing that time was crucial.

"Sorry." Siren girlishly chuckled. "Uploading attack program… done. Get out of here marines. I'll be with you shortly." Siren's image faded from the screen and Will felt the unusual fuzziness surge through his hand, then his armor and finally the cool sensation into his mind. He had already begun to exit the cargo bay with all of the marines fallowing behind him when he realized that Siren felt strange to him.

Will was just a carrier for the AI, but while she was sharing his head she seemed to move freely through his thoughts via his Neural Interface. Will noticed that Siren was not worming around his head like she was before. This was only a simple program that she had uploaded into him; Siren herself had become too large to return to the Spartan's armor.

Unlike Cortana, Siren was designed specifically to counter or adapt forerunner technology and take full control of Covenant systems. Her basic subroutines contained all the Covenant information that Cortana had taken and the forerunner knowledge she downloaded from Halo Instillation 04. However, her systems were dormant until she was uploaded into the Covenant ship. After entering the Covenant system, she had expanded her protocols and began to use the Covenant's mainframe to house herself and expand; in a controlled manner. She was a virus.

A navigation point appeared in Will's heads up display, and he realized that it was most likely the location of the nearest command console.

"She must have uploaded more then just her attack program." Will thought to himself. His motion tracker spiked as two red blips began to move ahead of him. They were close and coming straight at him. Will reached a corner and leaned against the smooth wall of the hallway. The corner was arched slightly which allowed him to cautiously look around the corner. Two jackals were approaching, clueless to the fact that there deaths were merely seconds away. A series of yellow blips began to dot Will's tracker and he quickly tossed up his fist in the direction of the yellow blips; never taking his eyes off of the two jackals. All the dots on his motion tracker vanished as their movements stopped. He then altered his fist into two raised fingers, then an open palm and slowly closed his hand back into fist.

Wesley read the hand signs and did as he was told. He and the marines would hold their position as the Spartan prepared to take down two enemy targets. They would assist only if the Spartan called for aid. Wesley watched from a distant corner, nearly forty feet away.

Will waited as the two jackals came closer. He unsheathed his trusty combat knife and quietly shouldered his battle riffle. He had to be silent and deadly. He knew that if he made too much noise the whole ship would bear down on them like a swarm of bees. He had been aboard Covenant ships before. The all too familiar feel of the Unyielding Hierophant quickly exploded from his memories. Back then he had other Spartans at his side, and the Master Chief's leadership, but now he had to go it alone. Just like then, this mission called for stealth. He brushed aside the memory and waited. Surprise was on his side. His motion tracker still only showed the two jackals. They were closer, and he could hear the scattered deep throated crackles of their speech. They were practically on top of him and he pounced from the corner. The jackals shrieked in terror, but their deep squeals wouldn't carry far in the echoless hallway. The first jackal's jaw was broken from a heavy left hook. It rocked backward as its companion fell to the sudden blow of the Spartan's combat knife. The other jackal stood and grabbed its bloody beak but quickly found its head in vice lock.

Will quickly twisted the jackals head with little effort, and heard the reassuring sound of tearing muscles and breaking bones in its neck. He then spotted his motion tracker in his HUD and realized that four red dots were coming around the corner at the end of the corridor. There was no time to take cover as the four brutes appeared in his eyes. He cursed to himself for not taking notice of the motion tracker sooner, but he was caught between eliminating the two jackal targets, and there was nothing he could do.

The first brute pair looked up and roared their fury.

"Demon!" The first brute roared as he pulled his brute plasma rifle from his belt.

The other brute tossed a plasma grenade down the hall. The grenade forced Will to dive behind the corner he had earlier used to conceal himself. He looked back to Wesley and cursed loudly inside his helmet, where only he could hear it, and the grenade thudded harmlessly at his side.

"Move up." Will stated to the squad of marines. "We're cut off, but we have to push through. The command counsel is on this deck." Wesley nodded his head as Eric ran to the corner beside Will.

"What do we got?" Eric questioned.

"A brute patrol." Will added. "They spotted me when I took down the jackals. It's four brutes and possibly more on the way."

"Damn, horrible position too." Eric cursed. "We need to take this hall?"

"Affirmative." Will stated as several more grenades thudded at the side of the corner.

"Wesley, can you make the shot?" Eric questioned. Wesley peeped around the corner and saw that the Brutes weren't hiding, but boldly standing at the end of the hallway tossing grenades.

"No problem, but the moment I step out they'll catch me with a brute shot or nade." Wesley added.

"If you can make the shot, I'll give you the diversion." Will stated. "We'll use the Hawk Maneuver."

"Sorry sir, I have no clue what that manuever is." Wesley nervously added. Will was too accustomed to having the Spartans in his squad and realized that the marines didn't know their tried and true battle tactics. He truly missed being with the Spartans.

Will looked to Wesley and stated, "I'll charge down the hall, dodging left to right every 5 steps. Remember that; five steps. I'd rather not get shot in the back." Wesley wasn't nervous till he said that. His reflection mirrored in the Spartan's mask as he shook his head with a firm yes.

Will took a deep breath and shouldered his sniper rifle. He primed a round in the chamber and made sure the clip was full. Four shots and four brutes, but he had to make sure not to hit the Spartan and he also had to make sure he killed the brutes before the brutes took down the Spartan's shields and killed him.

"Ready." Will stated. Wesley nodded and the Spartan turned the corner. His stride was slightly exaggerated because he didn't want to run at a full sprint. He had to give Wesley the time to line up the shots and fire. Once the Spartan started down the hallway, Wesley jumped out into the center of the hall and peered down his scope.

The brutes took aim and began to fire. Will could hear the plasma sear against his shields and a brute shot grenade explode only a few feet away. He started on the left side of the hall, firing his battle riffle into the group of brutes, but his vision was rocked by the grenades and constant fire. The all too familiar sound of an SRS99C sniper rifle reverberated behind Wesley and he barely made out the image of the far right brute dropping to the ground.

Five steps.

Will quickly cut to the right side of the hall, and two more brute shots exploded next to him. His shield alarm sounded and the heat of plasma surged up his leg. His armor absorbed most of it the heat, and overloaded the cooling gel layer inside his thigh armor plate. Two quick clicks roared in succession and two brutes tumbled to the ground. For a moment Will thought of Linda's skill with the sniper rifle, and thought that she might be impressed with this man's accuracy.

Five steps.

Will fought the pain in his leg and cut back to the left side of the hall, and before he could reach the other side, one more round exploded passed him, taking the last brutes life. Will stopped in the center of the hall and checked his HUD. His motion tracker was silent. He turned and looked as Wesley quickly began to trot towards him.

"You okay, Sir." Wesley questioned. Will nodded and heard the reassuring sound of his shield generator recharging. The fuzzy static glistened around him and his shield returned to one hundred percent. Wesley waved to the marines to follow as Will pushed ahead to the location that the brutes had occupied and Will pushed on to the next corner.

Will spotted a large blast door and approached. His motion tracker showed no activity as the door slid open and the navigation point dotted the command counsel. Will peeped into the room, and fully expected to see several sleeping grunts but the massive room was empty. Wesley crouched beside him and peered through his sniper rifle.

"Seems clear, sir." Wesley stated.

"Nice shooting back there, Private." Will stated, but he didn't give Wesley time to respond. "Hold the squad here, and maintain this corridor in case things get hot while I'm in there."

"Roger." Will replied. He felt a little inspired after the Spartans voice of approval but maintained his poise. Eric ran up to his side and nodded. "He said to hold here and cover this corridor."

"Got it." Eric replied. He then turned to the rest of the squad and passed the instructions. "Spread out. Hold this corridor and cover the rear hallway." The marines quickly dispersed from the door and covered every door and passage along the hallway.

Will cautiously walked into the grey silhouetted room and approached the powered down terminal. The room was impressively large with several decks along its spine. A small pedestal sat the center with a tall beam of light spiking through the darkness. Will placed his hand on the terminal and the counsel hummed to life. Will felt the cool sensation as the program vacated his mind and armor and uploaded itself into the computer. Before Will could pull his hand away, Siren's image quickly dawned on the screen.

"That was easy." Siren yawned. "Spartan 043, pull in the squad. This room is empty. It's a Prophets' chamber, but there isn't a prophet on this ship. We can hold up here while I do a little exterminating."

"Sergeant, all clear." Wesley shouted to the door. "Pull in the squad." Eric looked over the marines of Red Squad and spun his finger. He then quickly pointed into the room and the marines all ran in. Eric held his spot at the door until all the surviving marines had entered. After Rose and Hicks passed him by, he tapped Wesley on the shoulder and motioned him inside. This was too easy and Eric didn't like it. He walked into the room after Wesley had crossed the threshold, and the door quickly closed in front of him. Eric glared at the door for a moment, contemplating the battle outside, and realized that time was of the essence. He turned and walked toward the command counsel with Will and Siren. He quickly looked to Rose and she was fidgeting on the floor. Her energy had returned but now she was anxious to do something.

The Prophets' throne room was large and very highly decorated. The room lights slowly began to turn on but no light source was evident. The ambient lighting of the room seemed to almost radiate from nothing. The room itself contained nothing but a few wall terminals and the sole pedestal of light in the center.

"How much time are we going to sit here?" Eric questioned. "We've got soldiers dieing outside."

"Don't worry sergeant." Siren stated. "I'm creating ghosts all over the ship. I'm going to split up the brute and jackal patrols and lock them up in several sections of the ship. I just cleared the hanger." Sirens voice then pitched as she accessed the ships com system. Her words were broadcast on the terminal speaker as well.

"Platoon 3 and 6, Red Squad has gained control of the Covenant cruiser. Move in and assist Platoon 2 as ordered."

"Roger that." An elderly man on the channel stated. "Platoon 3 and 6 moving in."

"Juggernaut, the landing deck of the cruiser is clear." Siren stated into another channel. "You and your flyboys are clear to start dropping off reinforcements. Skyhawk fighters are in route to give you cover fire from those Banches. Once on board the ship, Sergeant Raynord will have command."

"Roger that." Juggernaut stated. "Who is this?"

"The name's Siren, Juggernaut."

"Roger that, Siren." Juggernaut replied. "Platoon 9 is inbound to the Landing deck. Damn good job Red Squad. Glad you guys pulled if off."

Sirens cut the com line and said, "Sergeant, Juggernaut and two other pelicans will be entering the landing deck soon. I have full control of this ship, and I can give you a clear line to the landing deck. I need you to meet them."

"I'm on it ma'am." Eric sighed. "Just make sure you keep one eye on me, and another eye on my squad till I get back."

"Will do sergeant." Siren replied.

"Peters, you're with me." Eric stated. "Will, you've got the squad."

"Understood." Will added. The door the throne room opened as Eric and chief Warrant officer Melanie Peters walked toward. Once they left the door closed behind them.

"Well, it appears this battle is over." Siren stated. "There are only a few hundred Covenant forces on board, but they are securely locked down. I didn't bother with locking away the Engineers… despite their ugliness, they're rather harmless. The marines and I can handle the clean up, Spartan 043, but you have other things to tend to."

"I do have my orders." Will returned. There was a quiet heaviness in his voice. Will partially wanted to maintain his closeness to Red Squad simply because he didn't want to return to his guard duty. "But I think I'll stick around until the clean up is complete. No telling what surprises the Covenant may have in store."

"I'm sure the marines won't be disappointed with heaving a Spartan around." Siren returned. "But are you sure? The ONI higher ups at Camp Eden may not be happy with you holding off your return."

"They'll be fine." Will returned.

"True, but I wouldn't want you to…" Siren began to state but she paused suddenly. "I've translated several Elite transmissions within the database, some of which were just received only moments ago. They were highly encrypted, but not very challenging to unlock. There are several references to a group of elites within the Covenant High Council; Mirratord. The word is used cautiously within the transmissions. But the important information is that the elite section of the high council doesn't appreciate the current actions of the hierarchs; seems to be bad blood between the prophets and elites. I also found a transmission from a prophet know as Truth. He sent a coded message to all brute captains within the fleet. It only says: _begin_."

"Begin?" Will questioned. "Perhaps the prophet meant 'begin' the attack on Earth."

"Perhaps, but the subspace time stamp is dated two days from now." Siren continued. "That means that whatever sparked this transmission hasn't happened within our local space time. And it was deliberately sent to the brute commanding officer. And seeing that the Covenant rarely takes prisoner, I didn't think to scan the brig. There are a lot of elites, hunters and grunts locked up. Judging by the evidence, I think something is foul within the Covenant."

"Really?" Wesley cut in. "I've been wondering where those elites were. Why lock them up?" Will was also curious. The elites, in his view, were the fiercest warriors the Covenant had. So why would they imprison them.

"I think you should find out." Siren stated. "Spartan 043; take Red Squad and begin to eliminate the brute threat on the brig level. Private Wesley Williams and Chief Warrant Roselyn Santos, I need you to go talk with the elites. Perhaps there's something we can learn here."

A burst of static echoed from the terminal speaker as Siren opened a marine com channel and stated, "Siren to Sergeant Raynord. I've scrambled all ship board com channels, so you and your marines don't have to worry about Covenant eaves droppers. All local com channels are clear."

"Good to hear, Siren." Eric replied over the channel. "Status report."

"I'm sending Spartan 043 and Red Squad to the brig to clean up the brutes I have locked on that deck:" Siren added. "I recommend that you and Platoon 9 clear out the upper decks and the command deck. I'm also sending Private Williams and Chief Warrant Santos to investigate something. I will keep you posted."

"Roger that, Siren." Eric replied. "Me and Platoon 9 will clean house. Out." The channel went silent and Wesley walked a little closer to the terminal.

"Why are you sending us to talk to the elites?" Wesley asked. "Why not Will? He's a Spartan and out he ranks me."

"You were a member of ONI Section III, Private." Siren returned. "And Roselyn. . ."

"Call me Rose." Rose cut in.

"…Rose…" Siren iterated. "…was the head designer of the Spartan body armor central processor. You two should know how to keep secrets, and if things are happening the way I think they are, there will be many secrets to keep." Will didn't like the tone Siren used and the Spartan was about to voice his concerns about letting the two marines go alone, but before he could say anything Rose voiced her concerns.

"Why would you need us to keep secrets, Siren?" Rose questioned. "What information are you looking for? And while I'm asking; what is the reason we had to take control of this ship?"

"Rose, since you're not really a soldier in the Marine Corps, I can tolerate your brutal lack of protocol and rank." Siren returned. "I gave you an order, that doesn't mean you ask questions. But since I like your spunk, I'll be blunt. Secrets are the reason the Covenant exists, secrets are the reason the Covenant and humanity are at war, and secrets are the reason why this war will end humanity if we don't take this ship. Any other information you want will have to wait until you see it for yourself."

Rose pondered the statement the AI had very loosely blurted out, but one thing stuck in her mind: "Secrets are the reason the Covenant and humanity are at war?" She questioned to herself. Rose wanted to know more, but new that arguing with a smart AI was useless.

"Sorry about that, Siren." Wesley chimed in. "Rose can be a little aggressive when she feels in the dark about information."

"Not my concern, Private." Siren stated coldly. "You all have your orders and time is critical. I suggest you get moving."

"Red Squad, form up." Will stated to the squad. "We're moving out. Wesley and Rose, follow our lead. We'll clear out the brutes first and then you two can slip into the brig."

_**To be continued…**_


	7. Who do you think you are?

**Stage 7: Who do you think you are?**

Northern Suez Canal;  
Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
08:05 October 21, 2552  
Port Said, Egypt

**Sergeant Eric Raynord  
**"Welcome aboard the Life and Sacrifice." Siren stated over the landing deck's intercom. The marines and ODSTs piled out of the belly of the pelicans, their packs slung lazily over their shoulders, and looked around the massive carrier's landing deck. In front of them stood Sergeant Eric Raynord of Red Squad, the man that led the strike into Port Said and took command of the ship. "This is your CO, Sergeant Raynord. He will be in charge of all operations from here on."

"Drop your gear and arm yourselves for close quarters combat." Eric shouted to the forty soldiers in front of him. "The brutes have been sealed off throughout the ship. I'm leading a cleanup crew to the upper decks, because this is now my ship… I stole it, and I don't like the monkeys that owned it. So look sharp and let's clean up this place. You can be tired later. Fall into your squads and form up." The landing deck quickly began to buzz with marine and ODST activity as Eric began to give squad leaders their orders and designated decks to sweep. The ship was massive, but with Siren running the show it was going to be simple eliminating the brute and jackal threat.

"Delta 431, Juggernaut, I've got supplies I need picked up and a few fly boys to be directed down in Port Said." Siren stated into the pelican pilot's com channel. "I need you to make some runs for me once Platoon 9 has completed unloading their gear."

"Roger that, Siren." Juggernaut replied. "I also received new orders from HighCom, I'm hereby assigned to the Life and Sacrifice and the rest of its, crew? What the hell is that about, Siren?"

"Can't say right now, Juggernaut." Siren simply stated. "Just pick up that cargo, everyone will be debriefed once the ship is clear of hostiles."

"Understood, Siren, Delta 431 out." Juggernaut sighed into the com. The ace pilot roared his engines and slowly eased out of the landing deck. Several more pelicans quickly dotted the horizon as more and more supplies and crew were being directed toward the massive ship.

"Rodgers." Eric stated to the nearby ODST. "Glad to see you're still alive." Eric recognized the man's face as one if his marines that survived the destruction of New Mombasa along side him, Rose, Wesley and a few other marines.

"Me too, Eric." The man stated. "What the hell is all this about?" Rodgers was eager to know what was going on just as much as the rest of his squad of ODST's that he had just pulled out of hell. They had been quickly scooped up from a firefight in the city and brought aboard, leaving other marine patrols to clean up the remaining brutes and jackals.

"No time to discuss it now." Eric quickly stated. "Get your squad together, and grab as many men as you need. Siren has forty brutes and a few dozen jackals locked up toward the upper level aft decks. Go clean them out and keep Siren posted. They maybe locked behind closed doors, but they are still heavily armed. Move out."

"Yes sir." Rodgers and a crew of ODST's gathered together to discuss their operation and Eric moved on to debrief other squad leaders on their assignments.

Eric spotted a female marine being carried off of a pelican that had just landed on the deck. She was very much dead and the medic was doing all he could to save her. The woman's lifeless body was singed from plasma burns. One side of her face was severely burned. Two more marines assisted the medic but little could be done for her. The woman reminded Eric of Rose. She was also going to be fighting the brutes scattered around the ship and there was very little he could do about it.

When Eric was young he wasn't the smartest man when he enrolled in Central University. The small school in South America was renowned for its beauty over looking the ancient Aztec ruins. It was also known as the school where the best athletes from around the world attended. Eric grew up in South America and new that this was the place for him, but he never applied himself in his studies; his focus was military prep. The war would eventually come to Earth someday, and he knew that he was going to be a soldier. Earth was his home and it was his mother and father's home. He grew up with stories of fighting on far away worlds and pushing back the aliens, and hopefully stopping them from reaching Earth. But Eric knew that the aliens would one day come. The Earth government had wanted humanity to live normally, but who couldn't think about the approaching covenant threat.

Eric ignored his studies and focused on military tactics and sharp shooting. He majored in engineering, but was a master at hand to hand combat. Instead of studying, he shot rifles at a nearby shooting range. Eric was a military man all the way, but then he met Roselyn Santos.

**Chief Warrant Officer Roselyn "Rose" Santos  
**Will and Red squad pushed through yet another corridor of brutes and jackals. The Spartan was putting the creatures down like insects. The Spartan led Red Squad through the massive lower decks of the Life and Sacrifice without concern for sudden enemy attacks, because Siren made sure that all paths were clear.

"Red Squad." Siren stated over the hallway intercom. "It's a long way to the Brig level, but not too many enemy forces between here and there. I recommend leaving the major clean up to the Sergeant's support platoon. There is some sort of transport system inside the room two doors ahead. It runs the full length of the ship. It's actually a rather nice system."

"If you say so, Siren." Will returned. "Fall in Red Squad." The Spartan and his team of marines from Red squad cautiously stepped into the brightly illuminated room. As their eyes adjusted, the entire center of the ship suddenly opened up before them.

"Jeez, mate." Marks stated as he peered into the inner skeleton of the ship. "If you think it's big on the outside, the inside is just monstrous!" Before them was what was considered the inner structure of the ship. Each deck was visible from top to bottom, and from front to back. The ship had nearly twenty decks and the marines could barely make out the rear as it vanished from sight.

"The floor in front of you is similar to a moveable sidewalk." Siren stated. "Step on it and it will carry you closer to the aft of the ship. The brig is just six decks below. Don't worry, I've cleared the path so you won't run into any resistance."

"Roger that, Siren." Will stated. "This is Spartan 043 to sergeant Raynord."

"Eric, here." A voice stated through the Spartan's com channel. "How's the hunt, Will?"

"Red Squad is doing fine, but we need to get some soldiers to the inner corridor of the ship. I trust Siren's word about keeping the brutes locked down, but I'd feel that the ship is somewhat more secure if we controlled this massive inner skeleton. If brute patrols gained access to this area they could run freely for hours before we found them."

"I hear you." Eric replied. "I'll get Siren to debrief me on the ship's layout and I'll position some marines in key sections. Also, we have several more platoons in route to the ship. In a few hours we'll have an entire Regiment on board. Colonel Carter will over see command on the ground, but I still have the ship."

"Sorry to interrupt, Serge, but what do we need all the support for?" Rose cut in.

Siren interrupted, saying "There's a major operation underway, and everyone will be debriefed once the ship is clear."

"You heard the lady, Rose." Eric added. "Watch your ass down there, and don't play hero. Eric out."

"Let's move marines." Will stated to the squad. They each stepped on the lighted walkway and slowly began to be carried toward the aft of the ship. The longer they stayed on the pathway the more speed they gained. Soon they were being whisked down the center corridor of the ship toward the aft decks. Rose's limited knowledge of military units failed her, but she knew that a Regiment was well over a 1000 troops. The covenant cruiser could support the massive numbers, but why? The ship would be overrun with humans and Siren's control of the ship was enough. Something more was being planned, and once again she didn't know what was happening; she hated that.

Rose pushed aside her concerns and found it an odd sensation being whisked away on the thin layer of light. She looked at the floor beneath her feet and realized that she was being carried on a layer of purple light, similar to the ships gravity lift. She could clearly see through the static filled layers and only a few small inches separated her foot from the floor. She cautiously took a step toward Wesley and the gesture made her slightly nauseous. The sensation off moving, while traveling at such a high rate of speed, was twisting her stomach, but she had not had a decent meal in several hours so she wasn't too concerned about vomiting.

"Your stop is coming up, Red Squad." Siren stated over the intercom. "Step to the edge of the light and your individual speed will slow to a stop." Rose stepped to the edge and realized that the conveyor wasn't moving the group at a certain speed, but instead it was moving each person at their own individual pace. The system was amazing, Rose thought to herself and she stepped closer to the edge. The group of marines was moving faster then she was and eventually she was left behind. She stepped back toward the center of the conveyor and began to regain her speed. She looked ahead and spotted Wesley standing on the side of the conveyor. She realized that the marines had pushed on, but Wesley waited for her.

As she gazed at Wesley, she quickly jolted into the recesses of her mind. She thought back to how she got involved with Red Squad, betraying the UNSC by giving Earth's crystal to the covenant, her first meeting with Wesley, and her first time meeting Eric Raynord; the man she thought she would never see again.

When she was young, the idea of attending a school in her hometown wasn't appealing to Rose, but with the Covenant threat lingering so close, she thought it would be safer to stay close to home. Central University was only a few minutes away by public tram system, and the dorms were adequate. The campus had a reputation of being an athletically dominated institute, which was very appealing. The school's top sport; women's Lacrosse and Rose wanted to be the star. She was an All American Lacrosse star in high school and was highly recruited from around the world, but the idea of playing for the back-to-back world champion Central University Ancients, dubbed the Aztec Gods, also suited her tastes, and made staying home for school much better.

Rose was an instant star during her freshman year of training camp, and quickly became a starter. Her starting fame earned her the respect of many Lacrosse players around the world, as it was very rare for a freshman to claim a starting attack position. Rose was fierce on the field, but even fiercer in the classroom. It was during her last day of training camp that she met Eric Raynord. The man was in her second term course and immediately made his presence known to every woman in the class. But he favored Rose by sitting next to her.

At that time, Rose was more tomboy then girl. She didn't have any interest in pursuing a relationship, but neither did Eric. Rose tried to ignore the war talk that spewed from Eric's mouth everyday in class, but she found it interesting that Eric was always on top of the war info. If there was any info she wanted to know about the war she knew to turn to Eric; he lived and breathed war.

**Eric and Rose  
**It was a normal day on the tiny campus of Central University, and the women's Lacrosse season opener was only a few hours away. Rose sat down in her Engineering 101 course and began to thumb through her data-pad as the rest of her class stepped in.

"Hey Rose."

"Eric." Rose replied with a whim. Despite the fact that they sat together, and Eric was a rather funny man, Rose never liked to let him feel like he was gaining any ground with her.

"Did you do that project?" Eric questioned. He dropped his data-pad on the desktop, without concern of damaging it, and slumped into his seat beside Rose.

"Of course I did." Rose replied. "I have a GPA to maintain."

"Can we compare the results?" Eric questioned. "I'm not sure I did it right."

"I guess so." Rose sighed. "If you focused more on the class and less on the war, you wouldn't struggle with this course."

"I don't really struggle, Rose." Eric laughed. "I just don't care." Eric slid his data-pad closer and brushed against Rose's shoulder. He was always astonished at how toned she was.

"Can you give me some space, please?" Rose stated strongly. Eric smiled softly and stepped away slightly. Rose grinned to herself. She found it funny how she could make him feel unwanted. She hated being a flirt, but it was fun.

"Sorry to invade your personal space." Eric smiled. He liked being close to Rose just to get a reaction out of her. Rose ignored his statement and looked over his project. She nearly gasped at what she was seeing.

"You solved it in ten steps?" Rose shouted. The class all looked in curiosity to the loud outburst, but quickly returned to their own discussions. "How the hell did you do that?" Rose questioned softly, after realizing that she was loud. Eric looked over to his data-pad and Rose's and compared the two.

"Looks like you miscalculated here." Eric stated as he pointed to Rose's screen. "But you adjusted to the unknown variables, which is why you have so many steps. Use Morgan's theory, it helps." Eric stated. Rose simply looked at him awkwardly, and watched as the professor stepped into the room. She was slightly irritated that Eric knew something she didn't, but it also peeked more of an interest Eric. She discovered that he was more then just a soldier.

A few hours passed and hundreds of Lacrosse fans gathered at the University Field Club. It was a massive restaurant, dinning hall, and dance club and it was built as a replica of the Aztec ruins south of the campus. The party was in full swing after the Aztec Gods easily defeated their first opponents of the season. The team was led by their star freshman, Rose. She scored 3 goals from her attack position and instantly earned the reputation she had gained. The team walked into the Field Club and received roars of applause and cheers, but mostly all of the attention was on the young eighteen year old Rose. She handled the attention well and basked in the shouts of praise.

From the upper deck, Eric leaned on a rail that overlooked the lower decks of the Field Club, and watched as Rose smiled and gave high fives to the fans. He had never seen her smile in such a way. With him were nearly a dozen of his friends that joined him in preparing themselves for marine training. Two young girls stood at his side and looked over the crowd that cheered as the Aztec Gods entered.

"She's quite popular, Eric." A thin white woman stated. "I see why you like her so much."

"Yeah, but she's a brain-job." The other woman added. "She'd never understand you, Eric. She's not your type." The two girls were also in Eric's group, and they understood him, but he only saw them as friends despite their explicit attraction toward him.

"She's just like the rest of the world." Eric added. "Scared and trying to ignore the war around them. She wants things to be normal, but there's nothing normal left anymore." Eric was a soldier at heart, and determined to fight and die a hero. It was the cloudiness of his youth that blinded him to the real demons of war. The reality of death would awaken him many years later, but at that moment all he wanted to do was fight.

"Go talk to her!" One of the guys behind him shouted. "We're enlisting next week, so you better try to do her before we get shipped out!" The man was clearly quite drunk, but none the less he had a very valid point.

"I don't think she's worth it." One of the women stated, but Eric had already begun to make his way through the crowd and toward the stairwell. "He didn't need much persuading." She commented to the other woman beside her.

Eric cautiously but quickly pushed through the crowd of dancing college students, as the heavy thunder of music echoed throughout the lower rooms. He spotted Rose sitting at the bar and made his approach. Several men had already begun to flock over her, but staying true to form she ignored them. Eric was actually having doubts about her sexual preferences, but didn't let that falter him. He reached the bar and pushed through the men that were oozing over her, but none of the men seemed to complain; Eric towered over them and his athletic build was quite awe inspiring.

"Rose." Eric shouted into her ear. Rose spun around on the chair, holding a mug overflowing with a deep blue beverage. The group teammates at her side all eyeballed Eric aggressively.

"OW, yeah baby!" One of the girls shouted. "He is cute!"

"Shut-up!" Rose laughed. She tossed back the blue drink and downed the pint in three swallows. Eric couldn't believe she had just chugged the alcohol in one sitting. Rose stood to her feet and pushed the horde of men away. She then tossed her arms up and wrapped her arms around Eric's neck; marking Eric as hers. "Did you see the game?" Rose sluggishly questioned.

"Yeah, you were pretty impressive… for a freshman." Eric laughed.

"So what, you're a freshman too." Rose laughed with a soft slur. This was a side that Rose had never showed in class, but it was something that her teammates knew quite well. Rose was a social typhoon, especially when alcohol was involved. But the way she flocked to Eric shocked the other girls on the team. She spoke of Eric often, but they never imagined that she was close to him. Eric was clearly the most outspoken advocate for the military at Central University. Everyone knew his name, but only a few people knew his face.

"We need to talk." Eric stated. Rose looked up at him and sluggishly smiled.

"Kay." She moaned. "Let's go talk." Rose led Eric through the crowd, staggering wildly as the pint she had just consumed began to quickly work through her. After a minute of blindly pushing through the crowd, the two found the exit and walked outside. Rose was no longer able to hold her balance and stumbled everywhere. Eric quickly wrapped his arm around her and they navigated to a nearby bench. "So what. . . what did you want to talk about?"

"You can't hold a drink to well, can you?" Eric laughed.

"I'm better then Kim." Rose loosely mumbled. "She can't take a shot without passing out." Rose suddenly burst into laughter, finding humor in her own words.

"I'm enlisting next week." Eric stated bluntly. Rose cut her laugh short and repeatedly blinked her eyes, in a failing attempt to focus. Despite her drunken demeanor, Eric's words registered quickly. Her body wasn't responding to what she heard, but her mind did.

"You're serious… you can't." Rose stuttered. "You have to finish school."

"The UNSC will wipe out my debt if I qualify, but school isn't my thing anyway." Eric stated.

"But you're smart." Rose stated, the shocking news clearly beginning to bring down her alcohol induced high. Her words were becoming clearer and her focus becoming sharp again; clearly the type of talk that would sober someone up quickly. "I know you're all gung-ho about the war, but you don't have to enlist now."

"No, I really do." Eric stated. "Don't let the UNSC Announcements fool you, we are loosing this war." Eric lowered his head and looked at Rose out of the corner of his eyes. She was no longer the happy-carefree girl from before, she was shocked.

"Then do what I plan to do; stay in school, graduate, and look forward to building better weapons to fight the covenant. Going into battle will only lead you to death if we really are loosing."

"Maybe I can help at least slow them down." Eric stated. "You're the one with big plans for your life, Rose. I'm just a soldier at heart. If I fight, maybe I can give you and the others time to build better weapons and defenses."

"The war is so far away, Eric. They aren't anywhere near Earth. We have time…"

"No, Rose. We don't have time. It seems like every week another colony falls, and they learn something new about us. UNSC my not admit it, but the Covenant is starting to find each colony faster and faster… they're on to something and gaining ground. We've been at war for nearly fifteen years or so, and we can't stop them."

"Why do you want to go war? And better yet, why are you telling me? We only know each other through class and we don't really know each other that well."

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted you to know." Eric sighed. "I saw you smile earlier. You have a nice smile. If we were at peace, I'd be able to see that smile all the time, but the covenant is coming. I want to help protect people like you. I wouldn't mind dieing knowing that I'm protecting you."

"I don't need you to protect me, Eric. If you want to do something for me, then stay. Finish school and fight the future war when it comes."

"I'd love to stay with you, but I'd be lying to myself. But I was hoping that maybe we could spend this week together. We can focus only on Lacrosse and the future. But even still, I will be leaving next week."

"In some way, that sounded like you were hitting on me." Rose stated clearly. Obviously her stupor had passed. Eric had to laugh at her response; because he was.

"Can't slip anything past you, can I?" Eric laughed.

"You know what, for a moment I had some respect for you. That's gone now." Rose laughed; jokingly picking on Eric's approach.

"You're not my type anyway." Eric chuckled. The two of them laughed, and Rose laid her head on Eric's shoulder.

"Please stay." Rose sighed.

"Will you sleep with me?" Eric questioned.

"Doubt it."

"You were supposed to say yes, if you really wanted me to stay."

"I'd rather not use my body to trick you into staying, besides, if I said yes I'd probably be lying." Rose laughed. "But were you serious… serious about wanting to protect me?"

"Yeah." Eric softly replied.

"Don't fight for me." Rose simply stated. She lifted her head from Eric's shoulder and stood from the bench. "I'm not worth it." She stated as she began to walk away. Eric stood up and watched as she walked back toward the Field Club.

"What'd she mean by that?" Eric questioned to himself. Eric didn't have the chance to ask her face to face, he skipped the final week of classes in order to train. But he was able to keep his eyes on Rose because of her popularity; she was always in the spot light on campus.

The day came for Eric and his small group of friends to entrust their lives into the capable hands of the military. Eric and the group boarded the campus tram and looked back into the heart of the campus. He saw a large group of people migrating toward over a central figure, but he couldn't tell who it was. He hoped it was Rose, but he dared not think about it. She was gone, and chances were he'd never see her again.

"Four weeks of recruit training, here we come!" One of Eric's friends roared from the front of the Tram. Eric smiled and cheered along with his small crew of classmates and never looked back.

Rose wanted to see him off. She hated that Eric was going off to war with dreams of protecting her, he hardly new her. But it was oddly comforting and sweet of him. She ran across campus from her dorm room once she found out when the group was leaving, but she was thankful that she didn't make it in time. She stopped nearly one hundred yards away from the tram and watched as the group piled in. She was soon crowded by fans and press as they questioned her about the Lacrosse match later that evening.

Rose began to address the press and as she spoke she realized that it was best that she didn't see Eric, that way she wouldn't think of him. It was better for her.

**Private Wesley Williams and Rose  
**Wesley watched as Rose quickly sped toward him along the conveyor system, and reached out to grab her hand. She slowly and cautiously stepped toward the edge of the light and took Wesley's hand into her own. He pulled her close and looked her over quickly. His eyes looked around her figure quickly, but not to see if she was wounded. He studied her every curve and loved they way her marine fatigues hugged her frame in all the right areas. He thought to himself that he still desired to be with her, but he had to focus. They were falling behind the rest of the squad and they were in hostile territory.

"What was the hold up?" Wesley asked as he and Rose began to jog toward the rest of the squad.

"I was daydreaming and playing with the system." Rose responded.

"You still get attracted to pretty lights, huh?" Wesley laughed. But Rose didn't reply. They reached the rear of the squad and doubled checked their weapons. Rose flipped off the safety and pressed the butt of her rifle loosely against her shoulder. Wesley simply slid back the barrel on his magnum and made sure a bullet was in the chamber, but his sniper rifle was securely strapped to his shoulder; it was useless in tight quarters such as the small rooms in the brig level.

Will and Red Squad cautiously stepped toward a closed door and took positions all around it; taking aim at every possible angle into the room.

"Siren, whenever you're ready." Will stated into his com.

"Standby." Siren replied. "Ten brutes and eighteen jackals in this section. All interior doors are now closed. There are two brutes on the other side of this door. Opening the door in 5." The squad peered down their respected barrels and watched as the door opened. Two brutes stood in shock as the door quickly hissed opened and revealed the squad of humans. Red squad didn't hesitate. Once the two brutes were nullified Will waved the group forward to the next available door.

"Rose, you and the Private can go down the center pathway." Siren stated on their com channels. "It's clear all the way to the holding cells. There is one guard jackal sleeping at the alarm, but I deactivated the alarm system when we first took the ship."

"Roger that, Siren." Wesley replied.

"You're looking for an armored Elite in gold." Siren added. "He is the ship master, or Captain of this vessel. He's the one I want you to speak with."

"Siren, are you sure this is a good idea?" Will chimed in. "If those elites decide to make a move, they aren't going to stand a chance."

"Don't worry, Spartan 043." Siren sighed. "I have no plans on letting the elites out of their cells."

"Be careful you two." Marks stated.

"Next door, Red Squad." Will quickly stated. "Watch yourselves, those elites can be cunning." The Spartan and Red Squad pushed through another set of doors and vanished into the maze like corridor of the brig. Wesley and Rose turned down the long center corridor and quickly pushed their way toward the holding cells, leaving Will and Red Squad to handle the remaining brutes and jackals that were scattered around the deck.

Rose and Wesley had met nearly two months ago at an ONI debriefing discussing the Spartan Project on Reach. Wesley was a simple marine stationed to guard the discussion and Rose was a hired engineer determined to land the project for her company. If successful, Rose and her company would win the rights to adapt and improve the Mark V battle armors Central Processor. The new processor would be implemented into the MJOLNIR Mark VI. Due to the security of the discussions and the secrecy behind the Mark V and VI, Rose was constantly watched by UNSC security, and it was not by chance that Rose and Wesley met.

"How long have you been sniffing at my heels, Private?" Rose stated from her seat at the bar. Thick clouds of grey smoke gingerly floated about the room, with dark mysterious shadows made even darker by the flood lamps that hung above the counter top. It was quiet in the small bar, and only a few patrons dotted the room, mostly hidden by the dark corners and minding their business. Wesley walked from one of the dark corners and approached Rose; waving to the bartender for a drink.

"One Sentry." Wesley stated to the bartender.

"A Sentry this early in the day?" Rose questioned. "You must be a serious drinker."

"Yeah, I guess so." Wesley responded. "And I'm not just a private I happen to be a First Class officer."

"Lucky you." Rose sighed; clearly not impressed. "Listen, if the UNSC wants me to keep quiet about the project, I can do it, but you don't need to follow me everywhere I go."

"Well, I was assigned to shadow you. But I couldn't stand seeing you sitting here alone."

"Aren't you the gentlemen?" Rose chuckled. "I do appreciate the company. This hasn't been the greatest week."

"I bet." Wesley stated. He sipped his drink and motioned for Rose to explain.

"I've never been a big fan of Sydney. My dad died here a few years ago, so I chose to never come back. Funny that my job decided I needed to be the one to come and represent the company. Sorry, I know this doesn't concern you."

"No, I don't mind at all." Wesley returned. "By the way, my name is Wesley."

"Roselyn, but you can call me Rose."

"It's nice to finally know your name." Wesley laughed. "Please continue."

"Well, the idea of coming to Sydney was already haunting me." Rose continued. "And then the military decided that I had to have this damn neural implant stuck in my head. That way they can track me wherever I go. Then they told me that if I removed it, it would kill me." Rose sighed and sipped her drink. "Now I have to sit through these boring Project Bids, waiting for each company to undercut the next offer. Luckily the military doesn't care about the money, only the results. It would be different if I could go to all the project meetings, but each company gets to do their presentation in private, and all I can do is sit and wait." Rose looked at Wesley and sighed. "I've had a headache for three days."

"You really have had a bad week." Wesley commented.

"Yeah, I know. So tell me about yourself kid."

"I'm a soldier, not much more to say then that." Wesley stated as he took another sip from his glass.

"Yeah, I knew a soldier once… a long time ago." Rose added. She thought of Eric, but washed his memory away by looking at the twenty-something marine beside her. "So what are the limits of your duty, Private First Class Wesley?"

"I'm a security guard for ONI, I have no limits." Wesley smiled. "You know, if we really want to talk then perhaps we should leave. Talking and alcohol may make us say something that ONI may not be to proud of."

"You are correct." Rose replied. "My room is upstairs."

"After you." Wesley stated. He slipped a small piece of plastic across the counter and the drinks he and Rose had were paid for. The two approached the elevator and quietly waited for the door to open. After a moment the door slid open and they entered. Wesley quickly took Rose into his arms and began to kiss her as the doors closed.

For several weeks after that day, Rose and Wesley secretly met together under the pretense that Wesley was Rose's shadow; ensuring that Rose didn't give out any ONI secrets. But the announcement came that Rose's company had won the contract to continue advancements of the MJOLNIR armor, giving Rose a significant advancement in her duty.

"Wake up Wesley." Rose stated. Wesley rolled over on the bed and placed his head on Rose's bare breast.

"What's wrong?" Wesley mumbled.

"The company has made me project leader, and one of ONI's underground facilities in New Mombasa is where I'll be stationed. I found out this morning."

"No problem, I'll get a transfer and come with you." Wesley added. "We can still be together, and not in secret."

"Reach was just glassed." Rose added. "All the Spartans are MIA, and we haven't made any weapons advancements since this war started."

"My god, the Spartans and I didn't know that Reach fell." Wesley gasped as he sat up in bed. "But don't worry, we've made plenty of advancements. The orbital MAC guns are far superior to the ones on our ships. If the covenant does find its way here, we'll murder them."

"Eric was right." Rose mumbled. "We didn't have time."

"I'll contact HighCom in the morning and put in a transfer request." Wesley stated. "I'm sure they'll make me head of security operations."

"No." Rose added. "They're bringing in a soldier from the front, someone that's been fighting for a long time and just recently got promoted. They didn't give me his name, but they wanted him because the facility will be used for two purposes. They said something about an artifact that will be researched at our site."

"Damn it." Wesley sighed. "Oh well, I'm still coming with you."

"If you want to, but I think this is as far as our relationship should go." Rose stated as she slid out of bed. She began to dress and looked back at Wesley. "Things are getting too deep for me, and I'd rather not get into a serious relationship." Wesley simply sat on the bed, in silence and starring off into space. "We need better weapons, we need advancements, or the covenant will wipe us out. That's always been my dream, and I can't get distracted."

"Is this about that guy you're always talking about?" Wesley finally stated. "You said he was a major influence in your life, even though you never dated."

"This has nothing to do with Eric." Rose stated. She reached for her tram pass and purse and walked toward the door. "I'm just not good in relationships, they slow me down. I'd like to be friends, Wesley, but I don't think we should tell anyone about our involvement. It wouldn't go well if ONI found out." Rose closed the door and left Wesley to debate his future alone.

The next morning, Wesley struggled to motivate himself to contact HighCom. Torn between his heartache and duty, Wesley debated on what he should do. But his duty and working at the ONI facility came first. He sent in his request for transfer. He dropped his chatter after he completed the request and gazed at the ceiling. He was scheduled to meet his new Commanding Officer the next morning in New Mombasa.

The chatter suddenly began to ring and he picked it up, the number on it instantly read Rose's number. He wasn't in the mood to talk to her, but he wanted to anyway.

"Hello." Wesley stated into the chatter.

"I just received an update to the security crew at the facility." Rose stated on the opposite end. "I see you transferred in. Why?"

"It's a career move." Wesley sternly stated. "The position keeps me within ONI's better programs."

"So long as that's the only reason… " Rose suddenly paused on the other end. "Eric."

"What?" Wesley questioned on the other end.

"Lieutenant Eric Raynord, Head of Security Operations and Battle Tactics." Rose stated. "He's still alive and will be working with us at the facility."

"Head of security?" Wesley questioned. "That's you're friend from college. You okay with this?

"Nothing's changed Wesley." Rose stated firmly. "We keep our private affairs to ourselves." The chatter went silent and all Wesley could do was sulk on the bed. Rose was older then he was, and while their involvement was brief, it was fun. He enjoyed being with her immensely, and she was an extremely attractive woman. Wesley's chatter suddenly began to ring again and he quickly opened it, hoping to hear Rose's voice, but it was quite the opposite.

"William's, this is Colonel Ackerson." The burly voice of a middle aged man stated.

"Sir." Wesley sharply stated. He was shocked to hear the Colonel's voice, the man rarely called him because it was usually the other way around.

"I will need you to continue your services." Ackerson stated. "I approved your transfer, and I think this will work in both of our favors."

* * *

The long corridor to the brig seemed to overshadow the dank atmosphere. Unlike the rest of the purple and grey corridors of the ship, the brig deck seemed to pale in comparison. Each hallway seemed to mock the other. The floor plating was confusingly dull and the lighting was dim. Wesley took note that perhaps the covenant wanted to create a confusing maze for any of their prisoners, and make it more difficult to escape. Wesley's ear buzzed with static as Siren softly whispered into his com.

"The jackal is ahead, around the corner, and sleeping against the wall." Siren softly stated. "Be cautious, jackals have very sharp hearing, and oddly enough, he's armed with a brute plasma rifle."

"A brute rifle?" Wesley questioned.

"Higher rate of fire, more dense plasma bursts, takes longer to overheat, but not as accurate as the Elite models." Siren added.

"It's just one jackal." Rose added as she peeped around the corner. "We can take it."

"I leave the decision to you, Private." Siren commented. "Don't get yourself killed listening to the rookie."

"Siren, I'm starting to think you don't like me!" Rose gritted strongly. Rose struggled to contain her frustration and her words oozed from between her teeth.

"Only someone with zero combat training rushes into a room, when they aren't sure of their opponent's condition." Siren countered.

"Quiet!" Wesley stated strongly.

"Sorry." Rose and Siren stated jointly. Wesley turned the corner and stood in the center of the hall. The heard the ruffle of footsteps in the deathly silent hallway and jumped up to see what the commotion was. It spotted Wesley and slammed its hand on the alarm, but no sound was made. Filled with confusion, the jackal leveled its left forearm and raised its gun. The shield unit sparked to life but instantly faded as the jackal's lifeless body crumbled to the floor.

"Too slow." Wesley stated as he lowered his sniper rifle. The contrail from the bullet faded and Wesley tripped the safety.

"Or you can kill it from a distance." Siren added. "You'll need to check each holding cell because the brutes didn't take names when they locked them up."

"Let's split up." Rose stated. "I'll take the left side of the room." Rose opened a door and the static charged air quickly rushed over her body. Wesley crossed the hall to the other room and entered.

"The ship master's name is Domadree." Siren stated to Wesley and Rose.

Rose walked into the dark room. Four cells lined each side of the room, and a center platform toward the center rear. The cells glowed with a deep blue light as the energy shields held its prisoners at bay. Activity within each cell was minimal as blood soaked several walls of each cell. Most of the grunts and elites were dead, but the Hunters seemed unaffected. Rose walked to the closest cell on the left and peered inside. Two grunts and an elite stood inside, blood stains lining their armor. What ever had happened on this ship, the elites fought back tooth and nail. The alien creatures glared at her, puzzled to see a human aboard their ship.

"Can they understand me?" Rose questioned into her com.

"Oddly enough, yes they can." Siren returned.

"Vile human!" An elite roared from within its cell. It than began to speak in a tone that Rose couldn't understand.

"What did it say?" Rose questioned.

"It said that; you are filth, kill us or leave." Siren repeated. "He said something else about the seed of your ancestors, but I don't think that was relative. Just a second, I'll update your Neural Interface… done. You should be able to understand him clearly now." Rose hated the Neural Ace. She was forced to have one implanted the day she signed in at HighCom to discuss the MJOLNIR armor upgrades. It was mandatory for any one, soldier or civilian to have a Neural Ace so that they could be monitored throughout HighCom.

"I'm looking for ship master Damadoree!" Rose slowly spoke.

"Be gone human." The elite returned. "The brutes and prophets have already disgraced us. And now you come to add further humiliation? End our lives or leave, we will wait for a suitable warrior to come and claim our heads."

"Ask them what they mean by that, why the brutes and prophets disgrace them?" Siren stated to Rose.

"Why did the brutes and prophets disgrace you?" Rose repeated. Rose was a little annoyed that Siren wasn't talking to the elite herself, but an AI may come off as rude or snobby; not the tone you wanted when trying to get info.

"Why concern yourself, human?" The elite questioned. Rose had not noticed before, but once she began to spoke, every imprisoned alien had stood to their feet and was watching her. "Where are you comrades? Are you alone?"

"Don't answer." Siren stated. "Wesley isn't getting any answer from the prisoners in the other room either. These elites are quite cunning."

"Why did your comrades imprison you?" Rose questioned.

"I told you not to say anything else…" Siren began to say.

"Comrades?" The elite roared. He slammed his fist against the shield that held him and other elites at bay. He then turned to the bodies of several of his elite brothers that were either wounded or dead on the floor next to him. "Comrades would not do this! We have been blinded and lied to. Made of fools! The cowards! Damnable prophets! They will not get away with this treachery!"

"Treason?" Siren questioned. "This confirms my information about bad blood in the covenant ranks. Rose, see what else you can get out of him." Rose was already a mile of ahead of Siren's thoughts.

"Have the brutes betrayed the covenant?" Rose questioned. "Or the prophets?"

"There is no longer a covenant, human." Stated another elite. The voice was coming from another cell, directly behind Rose. The elite stepped passed several elites and grunts that stood in front of him. The golden clad elite held his head high, but his armor bore the same blue stains as the others; he too had been severely wounded. "The prophets have lied and betrayed us. For what reason, we do not know." Rose approached the cell and looked up into the broken eyes of the elite. "Tell me human, if you are here then what of the brutes that took command?"

"Don't answer…" Siren began to say, but Rose had already opened her mouth to speak.

"Dead or dieing." Rose stated. "We took control of this ship. We want to know why you're here, why you're attacking earth and why you hate us so much?" The elite tilted his head curiously, but in all other regards he ignored her.

Rose gasped as the shield unite holding the cell closed, suddenly faded and vanished. The elite stepped forward and lowered his head to Rose's level; starring deeply into her eyes.

"Because those very prophets willed it." The elite answered. "And that is also what my new purpose has become; to find out why." The gold armored elite walked away from Rose and stood upon the platform. He then walked toward the control panel.

"How the hell?" Siren stated. "The only way to override the cell containment is if someone was standing at the control panel. Rose, trembling madly as elites, hunters and grunts circled around her, looked toward the center platform. There, upon the platform and in front of the control panel, she watched as an elite appeared out of thin air. The elite wore the black armor of the Special Operations, and branded upon its shoulder was a purple bar.

Siren cut into Rose's com saying, "Active camouflage! He must have been standing there for hours, or that's an advanced model not listed in the ships database. Rose, Red Squad is on the way! Don't make any sudden moves."

Rose panicked as a grunt came too close. The creature sniffed at her and she jerked away from it. She bumped into an elite and the massive creature clicked its mandibles irritatingly. She slowly raised her gun to her hip, her hand trembling so wildly that she was barely able to grip the handle. Her breath became short, and she was finding it hard to breath. Everything around her was a blurry and mixing together in her vision. She was terrified beyond all reason, and only one thought was in her mind; she didn't want to die.

"If you wish to die, human, point that weapon my way." An elite suddenly roared. The deep base in the alien's voice cracked what little sanity Rose had left. Rose lost control of her senses and felt trapped by the gazing eyes of the alien warriors. She closed her eyes and raised her battle rifle, taking aim at anything standing in front of her.

"Rose!" Siren shouted into the com. "LOWER YOUR WEAPON!"

**_To be continued…_**


	8. Uninvited guests

**Stage 8: Uninvited guests**

Northern Suez Canal;  
Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
08:45 October 21, 2552  
Port Said, Egypt

Ship Master Medmee Domadree approached the pedestal in the center of the room with a slow grace that gave all of his surrounding elites, and grunts, a renewed since of vigor. He turned and looked over his freed command crew and thought deeply for a moment on their next course of action. Beside him stood a taller elite, his cloaking technology was much more advanced then any standard elite camouflage. The Mirratord warrior went by the name of Bri Gridolee.

The two watched as the human spun nervously in the center of the room, as elites and grunts quickly approached her. The four hunters paid no heed to the single human and walked closer to the center of the room. They encircled the pedestal where the ship master and the Mirratord warrior stood.

Rose wanted to shoot. She wanted to pull the trigger and kill anything that came close, but which one? The aliens were all stepping slowly toward her and she twitched back and forth, from one target to the next; her rifle nervously rattled in her hands. Rose was seconds from blindly pulling the trigger but a sudden explosion of pain coursed down her spine, into her arms, and up the back of her head. She lost all control of her limbs and fell to her knees. Her vision darkened and she dared not to fight it, the pain of death was not nearly as bad as she had thought it would be. No sooner had she slumped forward, her body went numb, and she tumbled backwards and onto the cold metal floor of the holding deck.

"Do not kill the human." Stated an elite, shrouded in a dark hood. The elite's long flowing robe, and silver armor beneath it, marked him as a member of the elite High Council. He stepped forward through the crowd of wounded elites and grunts, and approached the unconscious human. The elite that struck Rose on the back of the head simply bowed his head in respect, as the elder examined her body. "Good, good. She lives."

"Elder Bortello, what wisdom can you share with us?" Ship master Domadree questioned. The elder effortlessly tossed Rose onto his shoulder and approached the pedestal. "What will you do with the human?"

"In our studies of the humans, we have found that they allow their females to fight in combat." The elder stated. "If the humans truly control your ship, then we can perhaps use her as a bargaining tool."

"Bargain with the humans!" An elite from the room growled. "That is against the will of the… prophets." The elite that had stated the outburst quickly lowered his head in shame.

"The will of the prophets no longer has meaning." Domadree stated. "And no longer will we fight blindly in this war."

"More ships must be notified of the prophets' treachery." The elder added. "Can we send a communication to the rest of our fleet?"

"I have been trying, elder, but alas, it is futile." Gridolee stated. The mirratord warrior continued to examine the terminal in the center of the room, trying to understand why he could not control any of the ship's systems. "All communication within the ship has been readjusted to human frequencies, but I can not override. Our ship to ship communications have also been compromised and the humans are monitoring all frequencies; they are sniffing all covenant channels. I believe the humans knew that our ship was the attack fleet command ship. They seemed to have known that this ship played a key role in our attack strategy. How they knew, is the question."

"No matter." Domadree added. "If we can access the command deck we will once again have full control."

"Captain, I do not believe that will be possible." Gridolee added. "I believe some form of construct is in the system, and if this is the case, then the controls on the command deck will also be useless. All attempts to open the holding cell door have failed, but there is no reason why it can not open. If I press the command to open the doors, the system tells me that the door is open, but suddenly it tells me that it can not open. All of the locks are off, but the door will not budge. This is a clear sign of a foreign control; most likely a human construct."

"Then we can not leave?" Domadree questioned.

"Yes captain." Gridolee responded.

"Your thoughts elder." Domadree stated as he turned to the councilor standing at his side. The councilor had placed Rose's body on the floor and was examining her features.

"So many humans have been killed by our hands, and for what?" The elder stated. "The prophets tell us that the humans are an affront to the Gods, an abomination. They are barbaric for allowing their females to fight, but perhaps they use their females because we have reduced their numbers so drastically in this war." The elder straightened his posture and peered into the ship master's eyes. He pulled off the hood of his robe and revealed himself to the elites. His skin showed the wrinkles of age, and the healed scars of many battles. "I say we tell the humans to leave our ship. We will then give them back this female and leave their world. There must be other ships that did not fall to brute attack, we will rally them and warn our brothers of this betrayal."

* * *

Wesley held his magnum high, and aimed at the cloaked elite that approached him. Two rounds exploded from the barrel but the elite was unaffected. Suddenly Wesley was kicked in the chest by the elite's massive hoof. Wesley landed and rolled to his side; tending to the pain in his chest. The elite left a dent in his chest plate and he had the wind knocked out of him.

"Wesley, stay calm." Siren stated in his com.

"Easy for you to say." Wesley countered.

"I've recalibrated the ship's scanning frequencies and I've found all of the cloaked elites. There are ten of them, but only one in the room with you." Siren added. Wesley couldn't help but notice that she seemed pleased of her accomplishment.

"And how is that going to save me?" Wesley shouted.

"Nothing will save you human!" The cloaked elite shouted. A roar of approval came from the elites locked in the holding cells.

"Just a moment." Siren stated. Suddenly the hallway door opened and the green MJOLNIR armor of a Spartan burst into the room.

"DEMON!" The elite roared; giving away his position. Will quickly turned and spotted the massive warrior and took aim. The elite's anger brushed away all of his discipline and training. The elite watched as several humans also ran into the room behind the Spartan, but he didn't care. The glory his family would receive if he killed the demon, out weighed his concern for tactics in battle. He charged the Spartan.

"Hold it you two!" Siren stated into the room intercom. "Honorable elite warrior, you can't possibly defeat the Spartan in front of you, and your elder has just made the decision to work out a deal with the humans. Do not fight!" Sirens words were ignored by the elite, and since the elite didn't stop, neither did Will.

Will released several bursts from his rifle, but they had no visual affect against the elite's shields. The elite continued to charge, and suddenly two single bladed plasma swords erupted from both of the elite's hands. Will had never seen the strange single blades before, but he didn't want to get close enough to examine them. He dropped back and waved for Red Squad to retreat out of the room. Wesley had already joined up with the crew and painfully ran out of the room.

"You heard what she said, elite." Will shouted. "A deal can be made." Will's words had fallen on deaf ears, and in some way he was glad that the elite didn't care, because he didn't care either. The elite in front of the Spartan was a serious threat, to him and the squad behind him, and it was a threat that needed to be neutralized.

The Spartan needed cover if he was going to take down the elite. He dodged to the right side of the room, and the elite followed. Will popped the pin on a grenade and let it drop at his feet. He then dropped back, baiting the elite to charge. The elite took the bait and stepped over the grenade just as it detonated. Will sighed in relief, but shock consumed him when the elite dashed out of the smoke cloud from the grenade. The elite's shields flickered but didn't fall. He took aim and put another 3 burst round into the elite's head, but the shields held. Out of options, Will unloaded his rifle into the elite with the same result; the warrior kept chasing him.

"Damn, last clip." Will cursed under his breath. The elite was gaining ground and Will was running out of room to retreat to. The Spartan had already circled around the small cell room 3 times, and the elite didn't show any signs of fatigue. Will took aim and unloaded every shot at the elite's head, but this time the elite dodged several of the three burst rounds.

"He's adjusting to my rhythm of fire." Will stated. The elite was able to adjust to the rate of fire from the battle rifle, and was accurately timing his movements so that the Spartan would miss.

"This isn't good." Will stated. His ammo count flashed zero and he tossed the rifle to the ground, and just as quickly pulled up his side arm. The magnum rounds pinged of the elites shields and Will made a drastic decision. If the elite's technology was superior, then perhaps his only weakness was with hand to hand combat. Will charged and the elite began to wort with approval.

The plasma blades in each of the elites hands sizzle with controlled fury as the blade swiped over Will's head. Will's shields flashed to fifty percent from the close call. The second blade came near and Will grabbed the elites arm. He then raised his foot and kicked the elite, but the warrior held his ground. Will felt a sudden rush as the first blade that he ducked came sweeping back at him. Will reached out with his free hand and grabbed the elite by the head, and the move threw off the elite's balance. The elite stopped his attack and tried to regain his balance, roaring angrily at the Spartan. Will kneed the elite 3 times, and with each blow he could feel the elite's shields push his blows back.

Will could also feel the incredible strength brewing within the warrior. The elite's raw power was giving him doubts, and he realized that he had never fought against an elite with such strength. It almost felt unnatural for something to be so strong. Will began to think that this creature was going to kill him.

Will's shields flashed to zero as the elite's free hand finally made contact, the single plasma blade struck his Will's shields dead on, but the smaller blade was only half as affect as the normal one. Will was thankful that the warrior chose a lighter and more accurate weapon, but sacrificed power. He grabbed the elite's free hand and the two massive enemies struggled for control. Will kicked the elite and its shield generator finally overloaded. The elite was stunned from the blow and watched as its shields faded. Will then head butted the elite and the two of them staggered backwards. Even through his helmet, Will was dazed by the contact, but he gained his senses before the elite could and made one last charge. He rammed his elbow into the elite's neck and the warrior fell to the ground. Will then stomped the elite's head and heard a massive smothered crack. He then waited for the alien to stand up. One last breath escaped the elite's lungs and life left its body. Will collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Red squad filed into the room, and after watching the battle from the hallway, they trained their guns on the fallen corpse of the elite, just in case it tried to stand.

"Siren, you said there were ten of them?" Will exhaustingly stated.

"Only nine now." Siren replied.

"Contact the other Spartans, I can't do this alone." Will stated.

"You are correct Spartan 043." There was edginess in Sirens voice that seemed to startle Will, but he passed the thought on. "Done. I've placed the request to HighCom. You should go back to ground level and get repairs done to your armor; that elite made a mess of you."

"I can't leave the squad, there are more of them out there." Will replied as he gingerly stood to his feet. "We should hunker down until the other Spartans arrive."

"No need." Siren returned. "I was able to lock them all down and contain them. Just like the brute forces on this ship, they are now harmless. Go get repairs. When the other Spartans arrive we will complete this objective."

"What about Rose?" Wesley cut in. "She's all alone in the room."

"Red Squad lets go." Will quickly stated. He picked up his battle rifle and one of the marines gave him a few extra clips.

"Hold it Red Squad." Siren sharply stated. "Currently Rose is surrounded by forty elites, and locked in the room. She is safe, unconscious, but safe. The elite elder has made it clear that she is not to be harmed. They are going to use her as a bargaining chip."

"Damned elites, they won't spare her!" Wesley shouted.

"A lot has changed within the covenant collective." Siren commented. "These elites want justice and are torn between their decision to fight us, or the prophets. Don't worry, private, Rose is safe, for now."

Will once again heard a strange tone in Siren's voice, as if she wasn't telling them everything.

"As for the rest of you, hold you're position until the other Spartans arrive." Siren stated. "Will, get repairs now. I've contacted Sergeant Raynord to report to this section."

"Did you?" Will questioned doubtfully. "This is Spartan 043, do you hear me serge?"

"Loud and clear." Eric stated in the com. "You still on board?"

"Yes. What's your location?"

"Deck 10; on my way to the aft of the ship and then to the brig." Eric replied. "Siren tells me things have become complicated."

"Affirmative." Will replied. He was relived that Siren had actually called Eric. "I'm heading down to the city for repairs and to await the other Spartans."

"Understood." Eric replied. "Leave Wesley in command until I arrive."

"Not a good idea, sergeant." Siren quickly stated into Eric's com. "He's pretty adamant about rescuing Rose." Eric stopped running and gazed into space, shocked by Siren's words. Beside him was Chief Warrant Officer Melanie Peters. She stopped and pondered if Eric was okay.

"Serge, you alright?" Melanie questioned.

"Siren, say again." Eric stated into his com. His heart froze for a moment, hoping that his ears were playing tricks on him.

"Sorry sergeant." Siren replied. "I was unaware of the threat or of the advanced active camouflage…"

"I don't give a damn about that! Tell me what happened to Rose!" Eric roared to the point where his voice echoed throughout the massive corridor.

"The ship captain and several dozen elites have her." Siren stated with a slight nervousness. "I assure you she's fine and she won't be harmed."

"Serge, we should keep moving." Melanie stated. Eric regained his focus and looked at the woman standing in front of him. "Whatever's happening we can't help if we stay here." She was right. Eric nodded and the two raced toward the brig level.

"Will, you can go." Eric stated into the com. "Hicks do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, serge." Chief Warrant Rodney Hicks replied.

"Assume command until I arrive." Eric stated.

Nearly twenty minutes of running and navigating through the immense hull of the Life and Sacrifice, Will finally arrived at the gravity lift. He walked into the massive room and took a mental note of the marines that were eagerly clearing the bodies of other marines, brutes and jackals. The remains of the battle that had taken place when he and Red Squad first boarded the ship. Several marines appeared from the gravity lift and saluted the Spartan in passing; they were caring crates of ammo, supplies and various other tools. Will quickly realized that this was standard procedure for prepping a ship for departure.

"Soldier." Will stated as a marine passed him by. "What's going on?"

"Not sure sir. We were told to load the ship with supplies on the double. Nearly everything from our base camps in the city is being pulled into the ship."

"Who gave this order?" Will questioned.

"Siren did sir."

"Siren, what orders do you have?" Will stated into his com. "This is clearly a departure prep."

"I'll tell you everything on the way down to camp." Siren replied. Will stepped on the gravity lift and quickly began his descent to the ground. The bottom of the ship opened before him and he gazed upon the horizon and city below.

"Well?" Will sighed.

"Basically, I've decided that there is more to this war then anyone can understand. But I want to find out the truth. I needed troops, supplies for those troops, and unfortunately my plans can not include you. Good bye 043. ONI will debrief you if you have any further questions." The gravity lift vanished and Will fell the remaining hundred feet to the ground. The half ton of man and machine crashed into the pavement and sunk nearly three inches into the ground. He looked up and spotted several pelicans flying into the Life and Sacrifice's landing deck and then the shields closed behind them.

"Siren!" Will shouted into his com, but there was no response, only static. "Command this is Spartan 043, the AI has gone rampant. I repeat, Second generation AI Siren has gone rampant."

"Calm yourself 043." Stated an elderly female voice into the com. "You nearly broadcasted that to every nearby command station."

"Major Elizabeth Rawlings, ma'am, what's going on?" Will questioned.

"Not your concern Spartan." The major stated. "But do not speak of this incident to anyone. The mission they are going on is considered Black Ops. Speaking of this could lead you to court martial or execution."

"What about the other Spartans?" Will questioned. "Siren said that they were in route."

"It was a lie." The major coldly stated. "She had to get you off the ship. She made a decision and told you what you wanted to hear."

Will raised his eyes again as the massive covenant cruiser began to lift away from the city. It then suddenly accelerated into the sky and vanished from view.

"Sir what happened?" A marine stated as he ran toward Will with several other marines at his side. "We were just ordered to continue loading supplies but then the ship left. I still have about two hundred men aboard that ship, and there are at least a thousand troops on board from various platoons!"

The squad that he had fought beside for the past few hours was gone. Once again the Spartan felt alone, and as he listened to the numerous questions from the marines, Will could only sit in silence. He turned off his exterior microphone so that he couldn't hear the marine's questions, but that didn't stop his superior officer from speaking through his com channel.

"You have your orders Spartan 043." The major stated. "Report back to Camp Eden, immediately."

* * *

"What the hell?" Eric shouted as he braced himself against the wall. He and Melanie had just arrived on the brig level when the ship began to move. The ships rate of acceleration jostled everyone onboard, but no one fell.

"Siren the ship is moving!" Eric shouted into his com, but there was no response. "Siren!"

"Serge." Hicks stated as he ran toward Eric and Melanie. "I've got Red Squad positioned outside of the holding cell door, but Siren told us not to enter. Rose is in there, and Wesley's going nuts."

"Understood." Eric stated firmly, but he himself was at loose for words. The ship was clearly moving, the elites were free, and Siren wasn't responding. Eric thought to himself that if things got any worse they were all going to end up F.U.B.A.R. Eric relaxed slightly when he heard the familiar ping of his com system.

"Sorry for the delay sergeant." Siren stated calmly.

"Damn right you are." Eric sharply replied. He was angry beyond all thought, and he didn't like the fact that he was left in the dark about what was going on.

"Your frustration is understandable, but I need you to trust me at this point." Siren's voice was soft and as pleasing as he had ever heard it. "Please move red squad back to the amphitheater room on deck twelve. All brutes and jackals on these levels have been removed. The only threat left is the command deck. No worries, I locked the brutes out of the system controls. They aren't the ones flying this bird."

"I figured that much." Eric snapped. "What I want to know is why the hell this ship is moving ahead of schedule?"

"I see, so you have been briefed on this mission." Siren quizzically asked.

"Briefed?" Eric fumed. "I volunteered and made the initial strategy, but no one ever said anything about you coming on board. So you see why I'm a little peeved right now. This was supposed to be a clear cut mission, but then we get an AI and take off 3 hours pre-schedule."

"Sergeant, all will be explained." Siren softly stated. There was a timid tone in her voice that caught Eric off guard. "For now, gather Red Squad and any other squad leaders to deck 12."

Eric sighed sharply and tapped his helmet com, saying, "Rodgers, Poll, Mayhew, Green, I need you all on deck twelve for mission debriefing. Double time! Leave your fire squads to continue a ship wide sweep for any enemy stragglers. Raynord out!" Eric tapped his helmet com again and turned his attention back to the matter at hand. He wished he had a face to associate his anger towards. Siren's lifeless form was irritating, and talking into thin air was rather frustrating. "You better have a good explanation for this, Siren."

"Don't worry, sergeant." Siren stated. "What I have to tell you is going to blow your mind."

* * *

"Very well construct." Ship Master Domadree stated. He looked to the elder, now standing at his right, and he too agreed. "We will gather at the prophet's auditorium. The amphitheater, as you call it. We will bring the human female, but if this is some form of trap, we will kill her and spill the blood of all humans before we perish."

"No concern needed, ship master Domadree." Siren added. "However, you must understand the humans do have… some resentment toward your kind. Hostility may become an issue. It will be up to both sides to maintain discipline."

"My warriors will obey my commands, construct." Domadree commented. "But we have noted human behavior as unjust. They even have tendencies to disobey their commanding officers." Domadree looked to the elder and motioned for him to speak.

"Construct."

"Yes, elder Bortello." Siren replied. The elder was surprised to hear his name spoken clearly and with respect.

"Why are you willing to trust us, when the humans would rather us be killed?" The elder looked around and noticed that the other elites all clicked their mandibles and nodded, agreeing to the question.

"Simple, elder." Siren stated. "The humans do not understand the logic that you, and your mighty elite brothers, have been lied to. Humanity is not your enemy, we never were."

* * *

The room was silent as Red Squad and several other marines and ODSTs rested in the corners of the massive amphitheater. The room spanned nearly 4 decks, with rows of benches circling one central stage at the base. A massive pillar of light poured from the ceiling and created a focal point on the stage. There, upon the stage, sat a small pedestal with two covenant holographic projectors on either side. This room was meant for the prophets to shine their images upon the faces of the elite and brute warriors during their sermons. But for now, it would be used as a stage for introducing the two groups.

"What's keeping her so long?" Eric stated. Wesley sat beside him, thumbing the safety of his battle rifle in frustration. The two men could only watch as the group of marines and ODSTs congregated amongst each other, trying to forget the war that was being held elsewhere. Melanie jogged up from the base of the room and then back down, she was restless and repeated the gesture a few times before she stopped and sat beside Eric.

Melanie was moderately attractive and she and Eric had a long history together. The two met in college and had served together for several years until Eric had been promoted. She never let up on her feelings toward Eric, but she never pressured him about a relationship. The two of them were good friends.

"Any news on Rose?" Melanie asked.

"No." Eric replied sharply.

"She hasn't changed much since college, has she?" Melanie questioned as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "I told you then that she wasn't your type. You should've listened, and you shouldn't have pushed so hard to get stationed with her."

"Shut up, Melanie." Eric sternly stated. But that bit of information had already been overheard by Wesley. He sat quietly and didn't respond.

"No, I won't." Melanie rebuked. "I've been your friend for almost fifteen years, Eric. We know combat, we know war, we know each other. You left the battlefield after my sister died, it traumatized you. But you wouldn't tell me why you left, why you gave up command of our platoon and went to her!" Melanie stopped, and calmed her nerves. She was on the verge of screaming at him in anger, but held her composure.

"A lot of things happened on Troy that none of us were proud of, Melanie." Eric sighed. "I did everything I could to save your sister." Melanie sat silent for a few moments and then turned away from Eric.

"I knew one of us was going to die, eventually." She softly replied. "I just didn't think you would leave us." A sharp hum filled the amphitheater as the holographic generators roared to life. The towering image of a woman with deep blue eyes and blond hair appeared before the group of humans. She was wearing a long flowing white wrap that waved in a wind that didn't exist. It was ruffled all around and tightly hung to her illusionary figure.

"Sorry for the wait." Siren stated through the speaker system. "I need for all of you to gather to my immediate right." Siren lifted her right hand and pointed to Eric. "Gather around the Sergeant." The marines and ODSTs all obeyed and sat comfortably around the general area of Eric. Naturally, the ODSTs sat in their own groups.

"Sergeant I must warn you, things might get a little heated soon." Siren stated. "Please make sure that you keep everyone under control, there is a ceasefire on board this ship as of now." Eric tilted his head in a curious gesture and looked at Sirens image. She rolled her eyes and looked to the opposite side of the room. "Also be warned, Sergeant, you aren't the only ones in this room right now."

The doors opened.

Standing along the edge of the room were eight silhouetted images of cloaked creatures; four on each side of the door.

Eric stood and grabbed his side arm, but didn't draw.

The cloaks faded and standing before them were eight elite warriors dressed in black.

The marines all stood, guns primed, metal shuffled, ammo loaded.

Eric raised his hand; "Lower your weapons."

The marines obeyed.

Eric looked to Siren, she was staring at him but suddenly lowered her eyes.

Eric looked to the door, and two elites walked in. One of the elites wore golden armor and another in a robe with silver armor beneath it.

Rose walked in front of the two massive warriors.

"Let her go you covenant bastards!" Wesley shouted. His roar cut the silence and both sides, humans and elites, began roaring at each other. Curses and hatred were tossed back and forth between the two parties.

Domadree stepped forward, but did not speak. The elites then silenced.

Eric stepped forward but did not speak. The humans then silenced.

The elites began to follow, but Domadree waved for them to hold their positions.

The humans began to follow, but Eric waved for them to hold their positions.

Eric stood toe-to-toe with the massive gold armored elite.

The elite glared deeply at the dark skinned human.

Eric smiled; "How you doing?" He questioned. Rocking his head; clearly showing no fear of the creature that could easily kill him.

The elite smirked, as its mandibles twitched with the effort.

Siren then cut into the silence; "Well, now that we've introduced ourselves, I'd like for everyone to say hello to your new crewmates."

_**To be continued…**_


	9. … the feeling’s mutual, split lip!

**Stage 9: … the feeling's mutual, split lip!**

Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
11:05 October 21, 2552  
Mars Orbit, Grid 422.31.4

The elite's grip on the hilt of his plasma sword created a loud leathery grind that filled the silence within the amphitheater. He hated the humans, and the idea of working with the humans filled him with distaste. He glared at the human that stood before his ship master, the human that spoke with no respect or honor toward his commanding officer. It would have been nothing for him to active his blade and kill the human; slicing off his head or stabbing him in the torso. The thought filled him with joy, but he wouldn't dare cross his ship masters orders. Gridolee held his peace and relaxed. He released the hilt of his blade and reattached it to his armor.

Elder Bortello watched Gridolee closely. He knew the Mirratord warrior would not tolerate such insolence from the humans, but the ship master's orders were not to be questioned. Once he noticed that the Mirratord warrior had relaxed, he quickly turned his attention back to ship master Domadree and the human.

"Care to say that again, Siren?" Eric stated with a twisted glare. He quickly turned to the center of the room and stared deeply at Siren's massive image. She smiled awkwardly and looked away from Eric's gaze.

"This mission is beyond us, Sergeant." Siren calmly stated. "We need the strength of these honorable elites. Besides, if we don't work together the fate of humanity and all other life in the known universe could be eradicated."

Gridolee found it odd that the human's construct gave him and the other elites the proper respect, and he found it so interesting that he approached Domadree and the human's position. He was intrigued by the construct and wanted to know why it respected and honored them. He had his suspicions that the construct had good intentions, or it was a massive charade intent on reducing the ship master's guard. He would not have such a thing happen.

"Gridolee, hold your position." Elder Bortello snapped in their native tongue. Siren overheard the statement and split her attention between Eric and the Elder. "Captain Domadree can handle this, but you seem on edge. You are second in command, but do not interfere… at least, not yet."

"Why do you think we need the elites?" Eric protested. "Have you forgotten the objective of this mission?"

"No sergeant, I have not." Siren retorted. "Our goals are slightly different, but I am quite sure that these warriors will assist us if we ask."

"And what makes you think that we will aid these humans, construct?" Domadree added. His voice was deep, and hearing him speak in human tongue created an awe inspiring shock upon every human in the room. Eric lost himself, and took a few steps away from the golden clad warrior before he regained control of his senses. He brushed the shock from his mind and returned next to the elite.

"Because, ship master Domadree, I know that you are not our enemies." Siren stated. "If both sides will please hear me, I will explain everything."

The attention in the room quickly focused on the image of Siren. Her holographic form reduced in size until she was standing in the center of the stage. She was now the average height of a woman and she began to walk off the stage. Her bare feet appeared to walk on the floor and she slowly stepped from the stage in her illusionary form. The holographic generators began to swivel in order to follow, and project, Siren's image beyond the center stage. Siren began to walk up the steps between the divided humans and elites. She then stopped once she reached the maximum projection range of the generators; between Domadree and Eric.

"Have a seat, please." Siren stated to the group. "This may take a while to explain." The Elites sat to the left of Siren and the humans to the right. Eric and Domadree sat directly across from each other, and never let their guards down as they began to listen to Siren. Rose sat patiently in the company of the elites, not saying anything. Wesley kept his eyes feverishly glued on her. The eight Mirratord warriors maintained their positions along the wall; waiting for any sign of trouble.

"First I shall begin with the founding of the Covenant." Siren stated. Domadree sat up with shock, and he quickly turned to see that elder Bortello was also dumbfounded by the constructs words. "Humanity does not know the full nature of the Covenant, but we have surmised that it is a collection of species from various worlds, united to achieve one goal." Siren trailed off for a second and then appeared to be in deep thought. She then looked to Eric.

"Sergeant, platoon 9 has cornered the remaining brutes and jackals on the command deck. I've instructed them not to engage and to hold their positions. Those brutes aren't going anywhere, so we have plenty of time to deal with them." Domadree looked to Gridolee and nodded his head at him. The Mirratord second understood and quickly vanished under the aid of his active camouflage. Soon the other eight Mirratord warriors standing at the door also vanished. This act didn't go unnoticed.

"What're you up to?" Eric stated.

"Merely making sure that the trash aboard my ship does not spread." Domadree returned.

"Don't worry about the brutes. We've handled them well enough without your help." Eric added.

"When I say trash, I am including you humans." Domadree stated. "My warriors will assist, if needed."

"Any of my boys so much as get grazed by plasma from one of your… warriors, I'll be the first one to stick a grenade down your throat."

"You have spunk, human, but your words mean nothing to me." Domadree added. "I will do what is necessary to protect my ship."

"Sergeant, ship master Domadree, I would ask that both of you remain calm." Siren stated. She glided between the two of them and lowered her hands to appear as if she was patting them on the shoulder.

"Yes." Elder Bortello stated. "Show the proper discipline for your troops." Domadree looked at his elites and saw that they were becoming anxious because of the harshness in words between him and the human. Eric looked and also could tell that the marines and ODST's were becoming eager for a fight.

"Platoon 9." Eric stated into his helmet com.

"Sir, this is Renman, go ahead." The man stated from the other end.

"Be advised, there are cloaked elites coming up your six." Eric stated calmly. "They are friendly. I repeat, the elites are friendly, do not engage them." Eric waited for a reply.

"Sergeant, are you kidding?" Renman replied from the com. "This is a joke, right?

"Damn it marine, I gave you an order!" Eric roared into his com. "Do not fire on the elites, they are coming to support you. But do not advance on the command deck until I give the order."

"Rodger that, sergeant." Reman replied over the com. There was a sound of disapproval in the man's voice, and as the com went silent Eric new things would get worse before they got better.

"I shall continue." Siren stated. "From what I have learned by scanning various ship databases, the Covenant came into existence during the final Age of Abandonment. During this period in Covenant history, the Prophets and elites began their union and began to seek further information concerning the Forerunners.

"It is also noted that during the Age of Conflict, the covenant expanded at an alarming rate. The prophets appeared to lose control over the covenant and it appeared, for a time, that the elites were the overseers of the covenant. The prophets' only concerns were the discoveries of forerunner technology, and they did not want to seem weak in the eyes of other species. It is during this period that the prophets appointed the Hierarchs, the overseers and leaders of the Covenant. The hierarchs led and instructed battles against other species' home worlds in order to acquire or steal what was needed.

"During the Age of Reconciliation, the Covenant pulled more and more species into their union. It is here that things began to go wrong." Siren noticed that the elder seemed more intent on this discussion and leaned closer to hear her words. "The hierarchs acquired several pieces of forerunner technology that made them puzzled about the true purpose of their faith. From what Cortana discovered aboard the Unyielding Hierophant, and now what I have found in numerous prophet databases, I can justly state that the prophets have always been using the species within the Covenant for their own goals. They believe that destruction is the only way to bring about change. They believe that once all life is destroyed, things will become much better and they will be the new Gods. They want to destroy all life within the universe, save only themselves. This is what they call, the Great Journey."

All of the elites in the room began to mumble amongst themselves. This was not what the prophets had taught them, nor was it the information passed down to them by their ancestors.

"During the Age of Reconciliation, the prophets found it harder and harder to fight; they were thinkers not warriors. And with the full might of the covenant, the hierarchs new that they could not… end… their union, the Covenant, by force. They wanted to be the true rulers of the galaxy, much like the forerunners were, but they new that if the elites and the other covenant members turned on them they would not be able to resist. They needed a trump card. They found it within the species known as the Jiralhanae, the brutes. They observed the brute race for many years before inviting them into the covenant. This explains why the brutes were not mentioned during any of the records or data from the Age of Reconciliation.

"The brutes did not have any forerunner technology upon their world but during the Age of Discovery, the brutes suddenly make an appearance within the prophet's databanks. I searched hundreds of ships over the past several hours and discovered that the prophets constantly compared the elites and brutes, and found the elites as more powerful, but the brutes were easier to control. When the high council was formed, the brutes took their places as prophet body guards, and this is when the prophets began to fill the brute's minds with doubt; making them feel lower then the elites. This naturally started an inner dispute between the brutes and elites.

"During the Ages of Conversion and Doubt, the covenant fell into several small disputes. Many heretics began to rise up against the prophets, and they were all elites. It was difficult to discern the truth from the lies, but I discovered that this was mostly due to the activities of the Mirratord." Elder Bortello stood quickly to his feet and glared at Siren sternly.

"Speak no more, construct!" The elder bellowed. "The Mirratord are but a legend."

"Forgive me, elder, but this must be stated." Siren returned. "The prophets are more involved then you may believe. The High Prophet, Truth, new of the elite high council's secret. He discovered the Mirratord many years ago but did not discuss it amongst the prophets, only the hierarchs knew."

"There are no more secrets amongst us, elder." Domadree stated. "Everything has changed. Allow the construct to speak."

"How did Truth discover the Mirratord?" Bortello questioned cautiously, affirming to the other elites in the room that the Mirratord indeed existed.

"A spy." Siren stated.

"The Mirratord would not betray their own." Bortello stated. "They would rather die then give up their oath."

"I do not know when or who the spy was, elder Bortello, but what I can say is that it was during the first years of the Mirratord. Because the hierarchs discovered the Mirratord secret, they understood that they could not completely control the elites. They had the brutes completely loyal to them, but the Mirratord was a threat that the hierarchs couldn't control.

"Eventually the covenant, as it was, discovered Halo Instillation 04, but the elites were slowly making discoveries of their own. The elites were learning more and more about the purpose of Halo and the great journey, but they still believed… but the rise of more and more heretics was proof that the truth about the great journey was spreading. These heretics were not Mirratord mission failures, they were scientists, honor guards, special operations soldiers, leaders, civilians… there was little that could be done. The heretics new the truth, and they knew that the great journey was not what the elites had been taught. Also, with the discovery of the Oracle more confusion was created within the prophets. The prophets had always taught the elites to revere the Halo installation and the forerunners as the gods, at least this is what most of the covenant species were taught. This was not the case for the brutes. The brutes were taught that the prophets themselves were to be revered, not as gods but as superiors. Somehow the prophets convinced the brutes that the great journey is the only goal worth seeking, and that there was little information to be learned from the forerunner technology. This way, the brutes would not need to understand or care about the forerunner technology. It makes perfect sense, if you think about it. The brutes are deaf and dumb to the prophets will, while the elites are more curious. The elites pose a threat.

"The prophets new they needed something to keep the elites occupied, distracted. In 2525 the hierarchs discovered an artifact on one of the Halo ring worlds, it lead them to a human colony world."

"Harvest." Eric stated coldly, while staring at the elite ship master across from him.

Siren continued, "The prophets found that humanity was an adequate distraction. A war was needed in order to keep the elites from discovering the truth. It was then that the hierarchs discovered that the humans were the reclaimers, the only creatures that could fire Halo."

"What?" Domadree shouted. "We were told that we were the promised!"

"As I said, the prophets have lied to you. They lied to all of you. It would appear that humans are the chosen of Halo ring worlds created by the forerunners; not the prophets. Whether it is good or bad to be a reclaimer, I am uncertain. The idea of standing at ground zero when a galactic weapon is fired doesn't sound like a good thing, but none the less it was a human that fired the Halo the first time, and only a human can fire it again. The true question is how life continues to exist if the Halo's have fired once before?"

"Then the holy cleansing of humans, the creatures that are our sworn enemies and an affront to our gods; was all a lie?" Domadree roared. "How can we believe this? How can we be sure that you are not falsifying your discoveries?"

"You said so yourself." Rose spoke up. Domadree turned to the human and listened. "You said you wanted to know why, she just told you. You were used!"

"I also believe that the hierarchs did not discover that humans were reclaimers until after they discovered Halo 04." Siren added. "The ring in which Cortana and Spartan 117 destroyed. This could be the reason why the war against humanity never stopped. Surely the hierarchs would have attempted to make peace with humanity, had they not used humanity to distract the elites."

"Makes sense." Eric added. He rubbed his chin in deep thought. "The covenant hated us, but then after thirty years of fighting, the prophets discover that they need us to fire Halo. You can't just walk up to us and say, let's be friends. But why fire Halo? It would kill the prophets as well."

"Already ahead of you, sergeant." Siren quickly added. "The prophets needed a way to escape Halo's activation. Human's survived, somehow, and the prophets need to figure that out. The High Prophet of Regret, the one that nearly killed you in New Mombasa, fallowed a signal to Earth, but wasn't aware that it was our home planet. He found the Earth crystal and then left. That brings us up to date. My thoughts on this, is that if humanity survived the first Halo activation, then humanity's home planet has a secret to surviving the Halo purge."

"Which is why the covenant has yet to glass Earth." Eric stated. "This changes everything."

"Now you see why I had to alter our plans, sergeant." Siren added. "The covenant isn't just brutal beasts without a purpose. They are smart and honorable creatures that were fooled into thinking that humans were enemies of their Gods. The war, to them, is a holy crusade. We can't hope to defeat the covenant alone; we need to destroy them from the inside out. A civil war would surely create turmoil if we can prove the prophets are lying, and we need the Elites to complete this mission."

"What mission?" Domadree replied.

"Our original mission was to seek out the Covenant home world and nuke it." Eric stated bluntly. "But I'm assuming that Siren here has another idea." Domadree nodded in response. He understood that eventually the humans would try to seek out a covenant world. The humans had lost countless lives from covenant bombardments on their colonies, and this was clearly the only option they had left.

"Yes." Siren sighed. "If you haven't noticed, humanity isn't the only species in existence. The elites, brutes, prophets, grunts, jackals and countless other species are still thriving, even though the Halo's fired. Somehow, life continued. There must be a way to survive. We need to find it. I decided that the Spartans were not necessary for this mission because if Earth has a secret, then they would be needed there. But there is someone else we must find."

"Let me guess." Eric mumbled. "Doctor Catherine Halsey."

"She's out there, sergeant." Siren added. "And she's most likely doing the same thing we need to do."

"According to Cortana and the Spartans' reports, she went AWOL." Eric added. "No matter how we look at it, we don't know what she's doing. Space is infinite, how the hell would we find her?"

"It's really simple, sergeant." Siren smiled. "We call her. That's why I was hoping the elites would join us. They can lead us safely through covenant space."

"It won't be easy, but this is beyond our personal feeling." Eric stated. He stood and walked closer to ship master Domadree. "What do you say? Are you and your crew in or out?"

Domadree and the majority of the elites could only hang their heads in sorrow. There was pain coursing through them that could not be described. All that they had known and believed was a lie. The slaughter of human colonized worlds, defending the prophets for countless years, and the total destruction of their faith; it all seemed so pointless. Domadree stood from his seat and looked down at Eric.

"Within myself, I can not agree to this union." Domadree stated to Eric. Eric was somewhat shocked. "It is the dead of one who is higher then me. We must report this to the high council, but for now only elder Bortello has the right to make such a decision."

"Whatever decision you see fit, ship master Domadree, is the decision that I will stand by." The elder stated with his head hung low.

"Then until I can make contact with the high council, my crew is at your mercy. We have wronged your species, and I will do what I must to attempt to make amends." Domadree looked over his shoulder and nodded his head toward the elite that held Rose at bay. He released her and Rose quickly sprinted across the room, through the crowd of elites.

Wesley exhaled and stood to his feet and watched as Rose ran toward him. He walked close to Eric and with a small smile he waited. But the result was not what he had expected. He watched as Rose dived into Eric's arms, sobbing loosely. She maintained her composure and didn't cry out loud, but Wesley new that she was crying.

"Rose, go to Wesley." Eric stated softly in her ear. "I've got work to do." Eric never took his eyes off of the elite ship master that stood in front of him. Rose slowly pulled away and with her head low she stood at Wesley's side.

"You okay?" Wesley questioned. Rose wished Eric had said those words.

"Only a bad headache." Rose replied.

Domadree was somewhat relieved to see the human female act similar to how his mate did. She would always fall into his arms whenever he would see her on their temporary home aboard High Charity. The human females may fight along side the males, but they were still nurturing creatures and emotionally fragile.

"Construct, what is our first course of action?" Domadree questioned.

"I took us out of Earth's range and we are in low orbit around Mars. ONI would not agree to this plan, so I had to get us away from Earth. As far as getting this mission started; First, how about we get you and your command crew back in control of the command deck."

* * *

On the command deck of the Life and Sacrifice, Gridolee patiently gazed into the pack of human trash that sat before him. He watched as they stood around the command deck door and mingled amongst each other, like ants or some other filthy insect. Disgust filled his every poor. He hated the creatures, he hated humans. To him, they were worthless beyond all means.

His active camouflage made his presence invisible to the humans, and until ship master Domadree gave him the word, he would maintain his watch and not attack them. But he was becoming impatient. He knew that if he decided to attack the humans, his Mirratord brothers would assist him, but he did not want to act out of arrogance. Domadree was still talking to the humans in the amphitheater and it would be stupid of him to cut down the human trash if peace was made.

Peace.

The word filled his throat with flames, and he opened in mandibles so that fresh air could cleanse the idea from his lungs. He gagged.

"Who's there?" One of the marines shouted. Fourteen humans raised their weapons and began peering into the hallway, but they could see nothing. "Okay you elite bastards. The serge said you were coming, so I guess you're here. Show yourselves!"

Gridolee snarled inwardly, he was frustrated that the humans heard him. Had this been a battle situation, his actions could have jeopardized the mission. He clicked his mandibles twice, and the loud snapping of his teeth echoed in the hall. It was the signal to his Mirratord brothers to remain concealed no matter what happened. Gridolee lifted his left arm and turned the small blue dial on his wrist guard. His camouflage faded and the humans quickly stepped back in shock.

The advanced camouflage system that he wore could maintain an active cloak for seven hours before overheating, and it was this system that gave the Mirratord their advantage in battle. But there was a side affect to the advanced active camouflage system; it needed to use the shield unit of his armor in order to work at full power. This meant that if he was attacked while he was cloaked, his shield would only be at half power. But even this made his shields comparable to that of the elite honor guards.

The humans were nervous, and Gridolee knew that he had put fear into them with his presence. He wanted them to shoot, because if they fired he would have every right to fight back and slaughter them.

"Hey split lip, you alone?" One of the humans questioned. Gridolee's anger fumed. The humans had no honor, no discipline, no respect for creatures stronger then them. The way he spoke to Gridolee only served to anger him further. Gridolee stepped forward, his massive hoof clanging into the cold steel of the deck, and the human's pathetic weapon pressed into the chest area of his shield. He eyeballed the tiny human and could see the fear in his eyes.

"No human, I am not alone." Gridolee snarled. "But my brothers would not need to assist me in ripping out your entrails."

"You threatening me, ugly?" The human snapped. He pumped the barrel of his M90 shotgun and rested his finger on the trigger. "I'll blow a hole in you before you can even think about coming at me!"

Gridolee could smell the fear boiling within the human. He was putting up a brave act, but Gridolee trusted his instincts and studied the human's behavior. The human's eyes were fully dilated, his breathing was quick, sweat poured from his brow, and a nervous shake was in his knees. The man's eyes began to quickly jerk back and forth as he attempted to watch everything that Gridolee would do. The fear from the human was fueling Gridolee's aggression and he wanted the human to attack. He wanted to bait the human and make him react, and he knew it would be easy to trick the human into firing his weapon. All Gridolee needed to do was step forward one last time.

It was a simple act, Gridolee thought. He would step forward and the man's fear would force him to pull the trigger. Gridolee had seen the pathetic human weapon many times before. He knew it was powerful at close range, but his shields would hold, and he would end the human's life before he could fire another shot. Then he would kill the other humans, and eventually all the humans on the ship would die by his hand. Gridolee clinched his fist and braced himself for the shot.

"Serge!" Another human shouted. "Thank God. What's going on around here?" Gridolee noticed that the human in front of him had relaxed, and was stepping away from him as the human leader approached from behind. He had waited to long to make his move. It would appear that he would have to wait to kill these humans.

"Like I told you, Renman." Eric stated as he stepped between the marine and Gridolee. "These elites are working with us, for the time being." Eric gazed up at the towering elite, and peered into Gridolee's eyes. "You got a problem, big boy?"

Gridolee stared back, gazing deeply into Eric's eyes, but unlike the other human Eric did not show the signs of fear.

"Yes." Gridolee stated. "My problem is with you, vermin." He snarled at Eric, baiting him to attack. But Gridolee could not see any signs of nervousness or fear. This human that now stood before him was a human warrior unlike any he had encountered in the past.

"If you want a fight, big boy, I'll give you one." Eric grinned. "But not until we take command of this deck." Eric turned his back to the elite and waited. His ears were sharp, and he listened to every ruffle of the elite's armor. If the elite took a swing at him, he'd know.

The human had turned his back to Gridolee. No creature, which feared another, would dare to turn their back to an enemy. This human showed him no respect or honor. Gridolee raised his arm and brought it down toward Eric's back. Before he was able to hit Eric, another elite had gripped his wrist and held him at bay. Gridolee looked to see which of his brethren had grabbed him. He turned and looked into the watching eyes of ship master Domadree.

"Captain." Gridolee pleaded. Eric turned around and looked at the two elites.

"I told you not to interfere!" Domadree snarled. "Much has been revealed, and you would jeopardize our pact with these humans."

"Pact, captain?" Gridolee questioned.

"I will debrief you later." Domadree stated. "But it seems that your hatred can not be trusted. Report to your quarters and stay there till I call for you. We will deal with the brutes without you."

"Now, now, no need for all that." Eric interrupted. "Ship master Domadree, we could use him. I'd hate to see any of my marines get killed during this operation, so why don't you let me and big boy take care of this."

"This is my ship, sergeant Raynord." Domadree replied. "If there is a battle to regain control, then I will be involved."

"I'm not going to argue with you." Eric sighed. "But at least let me and big boy lead in."

"Very well, Sergeant." Domadree sighed. "You and Gridolee may take the front. For the honor of the Mirratord." Domadree stepped away from Gridolee and approached the other Mirratord warriors. They all switched off their camouflage and listened to the captains orders.

Gridolee could only watch in quiet shock as the ship master and the filthy human exchanged words of honor toward each other. The ship master had called the human sergeant, and the human had honored his captain by addressing him as ship master. What had happened below decks in the amphitheater? And to add more confusion, Domadree had spoken the battle cry of the Mirratord. Had he forgotten their vow of secrecy?

"Captain." Gridolee stated. "The words you have spoken…"

"There are no longer any secret, my brother." Domadree interrupted. "The secret of the Mirratord has been revealed, but now is not the time to discuss such things. Prepare yourself for combat, my second." Gridolee was somewhat confused, yet somehow pleased to be fighting again. He would be able to spill the blood of the foul brutes, but the blood of the humans would have to wait.

"Yes captian." Gridolee stated. "For the honor of the Mirratord." He looked to Eric and watched as the human ordered his subordinates around. His presence gave them confidence, and Gridolee despised that. The human's did not deserve confidence going into battle. They were no more useful then the grunts that were cowering at the end of the hall.

"Alright big boy, step up, me and you have point." Eric stated.

"You do not give me orders, human." Gridolee bellowed. "I out rank you and I am the superior warrior. And my name is Lieutenant Gridolee, not big boy. Clearly you do not know of basic battle tactics; leaders do not advance in the front. That is the job for the grunts."

"Whatever." Eric stated a snap. "You can discuss rank, names, and tactics after we take the command deck and I haven't forgotten our fight. Siren!"

"Ready when you are, sergeant." Siren replied over the hallway intercom. "Eight brutes and eight jackals. They know you're coming. Two barricades positioned at two and ten of your entry, and there are two squads of four brutes with four jackal; one squad per barricade."

"Alright marines, it's going to get hot in there." Eric shouted to the marines with him. "Stay low, and quick. Lay in with suppressing fire, then break left and right of the door. The elites will then charge down the middle. Platoon 9, show me what you've got and I might let some of you join Red Squad!"

The marines jointly replied, "HOORAH!"

Gridolee gritted his mandibles and sneered through his teeth. The humans were pack creatures, just like the grunts. They were worthless and rallied behind whoever was strongest amongst them.

"Red Squad, pile in once the elites begin their advance and follow the elite captains assault." Eric stated over his shoulder. "We'll over run those brute bastards before they know what hit them." He quickly double checked to make sure that Rose and Wesley were not in the squad, and felt relieved that they obeyed his orders and stayed in the amphitheater. Rose had seen enough battle for one day, and Wesley would make sure she stayed out of trouble.

"Captain, you have command of Red Squad, I'll lead the advance." Eric stated to Domadree. Domadree nodded his head sharply and glared at Gridolee. The Mirratord second was about to protest the idea of the human leading the front attack, but the glare from his captain made him hold his words. "Rocket boys, open the door!" Three marines with M19 rocket launchers stepped in front of the door and primed their barrels. The door quickly slid open and three puffs from 102 millimeter rockets streaked into the room. A massive explosion rang from inside the massive room and the three marines dropped back, away from the door. Before the marines had cleared the path to the door, eight marines with M7 sub-machine guns and Battle rifles raced into the room behind Eric and Gridolee. Knowing that the barricades were at ten and two o'clock, the marines took aim to the front left and right of the bridge. Their bullets pinged against the massive stationary shield generators that created a pinkish blue haze throughout the room. Behind the barricades stood several wounded brutes and only a few jackals; most killed from the initial rocket assault.

Domadree was concerned that the human's aggressive tactics would damage some of the ships systems within the bridge, but with the engineers on board he relaxed knowing that any severe damage could be fixed. He then stepped to the door with ten elites a small segment of eight grunts and Red Squad in the Rear.

"Once we enter the room we will charge the center." Domadree addressed to the group. "If this plan works the brutes will not have time to prep for our advance." But Domadree had doubts about the success of this mission. From a tactical perspective, the brutes had control of the hill and even though they were outnumbered they would still kill many.

Domadree waited for the last human to clear the door to the bridge and then stepped to the front of his advance group. The grunts began to step to the front, as they normally do, but Domadree waived them back. They were too slow for this charge, speed would be essential to success.

Domadree and the elites at his side roared, fueling their inner aggression for the fight, and charged through the door toward the glowing lights of the barricades shield generators. Behind them raced the humans of Red Squad and grunts. The room was nearly pitch-black as Siren had turned off all the lights, only several emergency lights shined over the heads of the brutes. Several plasma grenades flared across Domadree's head as the brutes blindly tossed them toward the incoming fire. The brutes had not noticed the second attack, and were blindly attacking the humans that had led the assault. Domadree finally began to understand. The plan would work and the brutes would be clueless as to what was happening.

The emergency lights above the brute's positions, had created a wall of light and dark. The brutes could not see beyond the light and no matter how hard the tried, they could not see into the dark because the lights made it impossible for their eyes to adjust. However, Domadree and his group were in the dark and looking toward the light; the brutes were sitting ducks.

Domadree raced down the center of the attack with his group close behind. Eric and Gridolee left the first line of marines and joined the captain, and his second assault, toward the center of the bridge. The marines of platoon 9 held their position against the wall of the bridge and fired cautiously toward the brutes' lines, providing heavy suppression fire as the second group advanced.

Red Squad halted halfway between the brutes' barricade and platoon 9. Red Squad then dived to the floor and open fired at any brute that came into the open; the grunts joined them. Domadree and Gridolee sprinted at top speed, leaving Eric and the other elites behind. Eric couldn't keep up and Domadree and Gridolee seemed to be out pacing the entire group.

Eric gave up trying to run with the much faster elites, and maintained a steady pace while he rested his battle rifle on his shoulder. Shooting was his ace, and what he did best. He took a deep breath and held it as he gazed down his barrel, ignoring the scope on the rifle. He listened for his heart beat, and mentally counted the space between each. He ignored the thumping of brute shot grenades and gunfire and focused on his targets. He spotted three jackals, exposed and in the open. He felt his heart beat and he squeezed the trigger, another heart beat and another jackal dropped. One more jackal to go, but an elite was blocking his shot. Eric quickly found another target and maintained his level. But something was distracting him. Something he had not seen in a long time was unfolding before him, but it was unusual.

Eric had seen elites in battle. The fury at which they commanded the battle field demanded respect, but what he saw was seeing was unlike anything he had ever seen from elites in battle.

Together Gridolee and Domadree wielded two single bladed plasma swords. They lowered their stances and dashed between the shield barricades with the grace of dancers. Domadree had beheaded two brutes before they had even seen the swords coming. Gridolee seemed to glide his blades through the air. One of his blades impacted a brute's chest, but only managed to cut a few layers of muscle. The massive brute roared in pain and anger and swung at Gridolee with his fist. Gridolee arced backwards, lifted his other blade, and used the brutes own momentum to sever its own arm against the plasma sword. The brute screamed in agony as Gridolee stabbed both blades into its chest, but this time his attack was affective. He grinned as he pulled the blades free from the brute's body and then looked for his next prey.

Domadree preferred the one kill strike rather then Gridolee's aggressive and bloody method. Domadree had slaughtered 4 of the brutes before Gridolee had killed one. Domadree reared both arms back and darted toward the last of the brutes. Two of them stood at the opposite barricade and were rampaging over two of his elite brethren. Domadree lunged with his right arm and angled his blade along the length of his forearm. The blade dragged across the unsuspecting brute's neck, and before it could scream, Domadree had already spun on his heel and brought the left blade crashing into the brute's skull. The brute was slain and crumbled to the ground as the last surviving brute leapt toward Domadree's exposed back. The elite ship master spun to face the brute but could only watch as the beast crumbled to his feet lifeless; blood dripping from the exit wounds in its head.

"You're welcome." Eric laughed. Domadree looked toward Eric and bowed his head gratefully. He then looked over the bridge of the command deck as Siren reactivated the lights, assessing the damage to his kin. He then smirked as four grunts cornered a surrendering jackal and stripped it of its weapon and shield.

Only three humans and two elites had fallen during the charge, but they were not of the Mirratord. Domadree wondered if he had made the right choice by telling the Mirratord warriors to hold back. Perhaps the lives of the two elites could have been spared had he not made the choice, but it was a decision he had to make. He had to know the full potential of the humans at his side, and his Mirratord warriors could have completed this task alone. Now he understood the potential of this group of humans. They were smart in combat, but their leader, Sergeant Raynord, was the man that had brought them to this point. He truly was a skilled leader. His method had confused the brutes, and the rockets that were used were only used to add further confusion. This human was crafty.

Gridolee walked toward his captain and smiled gleefully. He had extinguished some of his anger and was relieved that blood had been shed.

"Captain, you seem bewildered." Gridolee stated. "We have been victorious. What is it that troubles you? "

"The human leader, sergeant Raynord, is quite the warrior." Domadree replied.

"He is merely a human with combat experience." Gridolee snorted. "We have nothing to fear from that one. But if it pleases you, I will kill him for you."

"No." Domadree stated. "I will keep my eyes on him. The prophets have betrayed us, that will not be denied, but the humans came to our aid fairly quickly. Something is not right, and if our two sides collide, Sergeant Raynord must be the first to die, otherwise these humans will prove to be difficult to defeat."

Gridolee smiled happily at the idea of killing the human sergeant. The thought raced threw his mind and he imagined several ways to kill him.

"Good job everyone." Siren stated over the intercom. "I assume ship master Domadree would like to being cleaning up the bodies, but with your permission I would like to set a course for our next destination before UNSC fleet realizes we are here." Domadree turned to the main pedestal in the center of the bridge. Siren's image floated above a holograph-panel.

"Where do you plan to begin your search, construct?" Domadree questioned. "And how will it affect the suffering of my elite brethren?"

"If my calculations are correct, Doctor Halsey would most likely want to visit every covenant home world and try to piece together the puzzle of the forerunners." Siren stated as she massaged her chin with her hand. "According to my findings, only the elites, grunts, hunters and brutes have their own home world. There are other species within the covenant database that remain a mystery as to their home world. But the jackals and drones home worlds were destroyed as a display of power by the prophets." Siren was silent for a few moments but then looked up to Domadree.

"Captain, I suggest we venture to the elite home world." Siren stated. "Since we must notify your high council, and search the forerunner site upon your world."

"It will take many days travel to reach our home." Domadree stated. "Once we are in range I will notify the capital city of Jogrennilee of our arrival."

"Three days, to be exact." Siren added. "Course plotted and set. We can leave when you're ready, captain."

Ship master Domadree stood firm and walked to the top of the center console in the center of the massive bridge. He crossed his arms behind his back and thought of anything that needed to be done before he began this quest to disprove the teachings of the prophets. He thought of his mate upon High Charity, the other ships in orbit around Earth, and the fleet of elites and brutes that waited on the edge of the Earth's solar system. Domadree knew that any treachery upon the holy city of High Charity would be easily put to an end by his elite brethren; his mate would be fine. So he turned his attention to the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of his brethren that were also fighting for control of their ships, against the treachery of the brutes and prophets. His thoughts went out to them, to go and help them, but he had no way to contact them. If he tried to contact them there was no guarantee that any of the ships were still controlled by elites. All ships were caught off guard by the brutes' attack and even after his years of training with the elite Mirratord warriors, his ship was also taken over. The risk in contacting the fleet was too high.

"Construct, you may proceed." The choice to return home was the only logical decision.

_**To be continued…**_


	10. All bets are off

**Stage 10: All bets are off**

Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
Slip Space time difference 2 hours:  
14:25 October 21, 2552  
Slip Space to elite home world; Dorenth

Silence.

Rose never imagined it would be so quiet. Her thoughts seemed to scream at her in the dull silence of the room. The massive ship was now traveling through another dimension, but there was nothing to be heard. The engines were whisper quiet, and despite all of the marines on board, there was no sound. She sat up and looked at Wesley and saw that he had fallen asleep on the bench. She lowered her head again and examined the gun he had given her. The magnum sat nicely in her hand and she liked the way it felt. It wasn't as cumbersome as the battle rifle, and not as powerful, but it felt good in her hands. She wanted to shoot it, to pull the trigger and see how it felt. Wesley said it had a kick, but you never know until you've tried it.

She pulled back the slide until it clicked against the slide stop, exposing the chamber. A gold slug sat nicely in the barrel and shined marvelously in the light from the stage. She walked away from Wesley, and gently guided the slide back to its natural position. She walked to the lower level of the amphitheater and sat on the edge of the stage. She examined the gun closer, letting every inch of its design soak into her mind. Being an engineer, she understood machines and computers, and quickly recognized the safety and magazine release. Guns were simple, not complicated like rifles. She pressed the magazine release and the ammo slid smoothly from the handle. She quickly slapped it back in. It was nice design, clean and smooth.

She extended the gun with her right hand, and gazed down the smooth line of the barrel. Looking between the sights, she took aim at an odd diagram on the wall.

She imagined pulling the trigger, she imagined the kickback, and then she said, "Bang!" It was a childish act, she thought to herself, but it brought a smile to her face. She was starting to understand combat, despite the amount of trouble she had caused. But understanding it didn't mean she liked it, or enjoyed it. The more she thought of it, the more she once again realized that everything that was happening was because of her. She lowered the gun and tripped the safety.

"Eric." She softly mumbled.

"He's on the bridge." A voice stated from behind Rose. She turned and saw the image of Siren standing over her shoulder. "He's discussing the finer points of human-alien relations with one of the elites."

"That sounds right." Rose replied. She turned her attention back to the gun in her hand. Siren's image walked to the edge of the stage and sat beside Rose, looking toward her as if she wanted to know what was on her mind. "I don't understand anything about combat or strategy, but he's been learning it all his life."

"He's a soldier." Siren replied. "It's what he does. You should either accept that or leave him alone."

"You're awful personal for an AI." Rose stated.

"Actually, I'm a second generation smart AI." Siren smiled. "My subroutines are designed to understand variations in human emotional behaviors. It allows me talk to them when they can't seem to understand their own thoughts."

"Good for you." Rose sighed. "I guess that means that they left a lot of your host's mental and emotional scans intact. I know how a smart AI works, you were once human."

"Yes." Siren stated. She lowered her head and appeared to be troubled by the words. "Once, I was human. I wish they would have taken my past completely away from me, but they thought it would make me more capable to have emotions. I'm a virus form smart AI, what the hell do I need with emotions?"

Rose sat silent, staring in shock at the hologram that sat beside her.

"Sorry." Siren laughed. "I guess I'm a little too human for my own good."

"What do you remember about being human?" Rose questioned.

"Everything." Siren replied sharply. "Every minute of my former life… and death. There are some things you should never remember." Siren lowered her head and appeared as though she wanted to cry, but quickly raised her head and sighed. "But it is better being an AI. I can do several things at once, and still contribute to the cause."

"Who were you?" Rose pushed for more answers.

"A soldier that died on Troy." Siren sighed. "But let's not discuss that anymore."

"Sorry." Rose stated. She felt odd apologizing to an AI, but considering the amount of trauma that Siren must have experienced in her last life she felt justified for being sympathetic. "So why are you here, shouldn't you be monitoring the elites or something?" Rose questioned.

"I am." Siren replied. "I've created multiple sub programs to monitor every human and alien on board, even the engineers."

"Those floating things which work on the ship?" Rose inwardly questioned. "They freak me out. They don't have legs, it's weird."

"They're harmless." Siren laughed. "Ah, she's finally here."

"Who?" Rose questioned. Siren pointed to the door at the top of the amphitheater and watched as a female figure walked into the room.

Melanie walked through the door and spotted Rose and Siren sitting on the stage. She sighed to herself and made her way toward Wesley's sleeping form. She kicked his boot and startled him awake.

"Private, the serge wants you on the bridge, ASAP." Melanie barked while saluting. "I'm here to watch Rose."

"Understood, Peters." Wesley yawned. He wiped the drool from his mouth and looked to Rose and Siren sitting on the stage. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Rose simply nodded her reply and Wesley ran off.

"Well don't just stand there, get down here and have a seat." Siren stated to Melanie.

"I'm not really in the mood to sit beside her." Melanie replied. "I'll stay here, if you don't mind."

"I do mind." Siren moaned. Rose nearly giggled at the sound of Siren attempting to whine. "I've been cooped up in this ship, scanning databases for the past few hours and now I feel like socializing. Besides, what else are you going to do? Hate everyone that tries to come between you and Eric?"

Rose gazed at Siren deeply but quickly turned to look at the fuming marine storming down the stairs. Melanie was pissed and Siren found it funny; the AI began to laugh loudly.

"If you had a face, I'd smash it in right now." Melanie stated as she gazed at the holographic image. She stood only a few inches from Siren and fumed with anger.

"If I had lips, I'd kiss you right now." Siren giggled. "It feels like I haven't seen you in a lifetime."

"Kiss me?" Melanie questioned in shock.

"You'd kiss me back, wouldn't you Mel?" Siren smiled.

"Mel?" A tear boiled down Melanie's face after hearing siren speak her childhood name.

"Kiss me Mel, you hot redheaded vixen?" Siren giggled as she stared into Melanie's eyes. Melanie stepped back, her eyes widened and she lifted her hand to cover her mouth.

"Kim?" Melanie questioned. Siren's expression changed from happy to horrified, as she heard the name escape Melanie's voice.

"Forgive me, Warrant officer." Siren pleaded as she looked away from Melanie. "I was merely being playful. I did not mean to remind you of something bad." Siren's image began to fade away. "I have things that I must deal with. I can no longer divide my processes in such away." Siren then vanished completely. Leaving Rose and a bewildered Melanie to contemplate what had just transpired.

Rose looked on as Melanie struggled to contain her confusion and tears. Rose was also struggling to understand what Siren meant about keeping everyone away from Eric. She slid off the stage and walked closer to Melanie. Melanie looked away from her.

"Do I know you?" Rose softly questioned.

"I guess you were too popular in college to remember us soldiers." Melanie quickly returned while drying her eyes on her sleeve. "The only person you seem to remember is Eric."

"You're Eric's friend from school." Rose stated. "You had a sister…"

"Kim." Melanie sighed. "She died on Troy, when the covenant caught us with a sneak attack."

"I'm sorry." Rose added. Rose wondered more and more about Troy, realizing that a lot seemed to have happened there. "But despite that, I don't think you have any right to be angry at me. If this has something to do with Eric then make your peace, otherwise leave me alone." Rose eyed the woman in front of her and was torn about Melanie's approach.

"Make my peace?" Melanie roared. "Listen you little bitch. You maybe a member of this squad but I won't let you influence Eric into making rash decisions. Not again."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rose angrily countered. "If you haven't noticed, Eric hasn't really been giving me any attention since all of this started."

"Not yet." Melanie snapped. "He was the best marine in this war and then my sister died. At that moment he couldn't stop thinking of you. No matter how hard we fought, the covenant pushed us back. We retreated from Troy just before it was glassed. He lost his focus and we lost nearly all of his platoon. He was promoted after that even though our battle was a failure. Then he left the front line to be with you. Sitting at a desk and pushing paper with ONI. That's not who he was or who he is."

"What does his decision have to do with me?" Rose screamed.

"It's all about you!" Melanie returned. "But you could never understand that. It was always your goals, your future and your career. He never told me everything, but he told me enough. He tried to get me to leave the front line with him, but I knew better. I'd rather have died on the battle field then wait for the covenant to come knocking on Earth's door."

"You're not making any sense." Rose moaned. Melanie sat up straight and shook her head loosely.

"You're clueless." Melanie sighed. She removed her helmet and softly sat on the front row seat, in front of Rose. "You two have been together for almost a month, and you still don't get it. Why would anyone give up what they are good at, just to sit at desk?"

"He is not in love with me." Rose snapped in return. Melanie looked at Rose curiously and sighed heavily.

"If you won't accept it, then tell him." Melanie smiled. "The man crossed the galaxy so that he would be by your side when the covenant came. I think he deserves to know how you feel."

"There's nothing to tell him." Rose replied. "I've been with him this past month, not you. He doesn't have those feelings for me."

"Then you're just as blind as you were in college." Melanie laughed. Rose sulked inwardly. Normally she was in control of situations and people didn't argue with her, but sitting in front of her was a woman that was mentally and physically tough. Marines were different then business men and women. Melanie was a soldier that had seen many battles, and it was only luck that she had teamed up with Eric again.

Chief Warrant officer Melanie Peters continued her tour of duty after the incident on Troy, in which a third of her platoon was slaughtered by a covenant sneak attack. She also lost her little sister during that conflict. Melanie's next station was soon to be Reach, but it was attacked before her ship could arrive. She, and the rest of her platoon, then returned to Earth, and once New Mombasa was attacked she quickly joined the recovery efforts. She then spotted Eric at Camp Charley and joined his squad.

Melanie pulled a canister from her back hip pouch and took out a small flask. She popped open the lid and took a sip from the canister. She quickly rubbed her nose to try and ward off the burn in her throat; a reflex to the strong shot of whiskey.

"I can say one thing though." Melanie smiled. "You have a good taste in men. You just suck at dealing with them." Melanie quickly closed the flask and tossed it to Rose. Shocked, Rose juggled the flask but grabbed it firmly before it tumbled to the ground. "Take a hit. I think we both need it." Rose followed through, allowing the strong alcohol to flow down her throat.

"Damn gal, don't kill it." Melanie laughed.

"Whiskey." Rose smiled, unaffected by the strong after taste. "My old friend." She closed the flask and spotted an inscription on the side of it. "Do or Die. What's that mean?"

Melanie took the flask from Rose and ran her thumb across the words, "It means that you only get one true chance to do something. If you don't do it, then forget it, otherwise you'll die miserable. So tell me something, Rose. What could have possibly made you decide to enlist? I know New Mombasa was where you worked and lived, but you were never a fan of the military."

"I made a mistake, a mistake that cost a lot of people there lives." Rose sulked as she sat beside Melanie. "I'm not here because I want to be, but because I have to be."

"That sucks." Melanie stated uncaringly.

"Can I ask you why you're still a Warrant officer?" Rose questioned sarcastically. "I'm not up to date with military ranking, but I know a warrant isn't the rank of a middle aged soldier who has been in the service for more then 15 years."

"Ouch." Melanie smiled. "That was a low blow. I was a second lieutenant until…" Melanie paused and let her eyes drift off into the darkness of the amphitheater. Her mind raced back to the day her sister died. Covenant forces surrounding their position. Marines were falling by the second and the shrieks of her sister etched into her mind. Eric held her, blood flowing from her missing arm.

A plasma grenade had landed in the center of the formation and she tried to get rid of it, but the grenade stuck to her hand. She ran from the squad, saving them, but sacrificing herself. Kim screamed as she ran from the formation, knowing she was going to die, knowing that she had to die. Eric chased after her and watched as the grenade fused and exploded. He dragged her body back to the formation while still under heavy covenant attack. Kim was also a second lieutenant, she was a Field Operations specialist and could crack any covenant transmission.

"I'm sorry." Rose quickly stated. "I didn't mean to bring up the memory." Melanie looked at Rose oddly, not realizing that she had been talking the whole time, and telling Rose about Kim. "But why did you get demoted?"

"That mission on Troy was considered Black Ops." Melanie replied. "We were all specialists and Eric was leading us. Had I been promoted then I would have wound up on a ship or behind a desk someplace like Eric did. The battlefield was where I wanted to be, not a desk. So I kicked the shit out of one of those ODST bastards when he looked at me funny. After a few fights, my colonel got the hint, and dropped me a few ranks. I wasn't the only one that used that trick to get held back, a lot of Eric's old college buds succeeded in staying in the fight. But Eric was the only one that moved up in rank."

"I see." Rose smiled. She then made a mental note not to get on Melanie's bad side.

"All hands to battle stations." Siren's voice stated over the ship wide com channel. "I repeat. All hands to battle stations."

"Battle station?" Rose pondered shockingly. "But I thought we where in slip space?"

"Happens all the time, babe." Melanie replied. "Let's go, we're on deck twelve. Just stick with me until Wesley gets back."

* * *

The bridge was filled with activity, but it was deathly silent. The elites and humans occupied their own spaces, and avoided contact with each other as much as possible. Atop the command pedestal stood Eric, Domadree and Gridolee. The three of them held their words and merely gazed into holographic videos around the pedestal.

The elites worked the ships systems, but it was Siren that was running the show. For now, she allowed the elites to run the ship as they pleased, knowing that if she needed to she could easily take command.

Eric quickly became annoyed with the quiet atmosphere and walked closer to ship master Domadree.

"So what is the Mirratord?" Eric questioned. "It's not listed in any of our intelligence reports."

Domadree turned toward Eric and looked down at him saying, "Simply put, we are the right hand of the elite high council. We do as they summon and we do not take orders from the prophets or the hierarchs. Until today we believed that the hierarchs knew not who we were."

"So an elite secret service." Eric commented. "Are you the leader?"

"No." Domadree stated. "I'm merely a high ranking second. My title as ship master was necessary for our… previous mission."

"Your previous mission?" Eric questioned.

"I would rather not discus it at this time." Domadree stated, turning his attention back to commanding the ship.

"Captain, I've detected echoes at the ships aft." Shouted an elite from his post.

"Confirmed." Siren replied. "The echo matches a cruiser class ship."

"Echo distance?" Domadree questioned.

"Four million and holding." The elite replied. "We are being tracked."

"Sergeant, you should advise your humans to prepare for battle." Domadree stated. "We have not reached covenant space yet, therefore I can only assume that this echo is a hostile ship."

"Siren, standby to call General Quarters." Eric sharply stated. "Melanie, get to the amphitheater and tell Wesley to get his ass up here; he's not answering his com. You stay with Rose and guard deck 12 if we go to battle readiness."

"Roger Serge." Melanie replied as she sprinted off the bridge. Eric was grateful to have her at his side again. She was always a skilled soldier, and her abilities would surely come in handy in the battles to come.

"What is this, General Quarters you speak of human?" Gridolee questioned with an annoyed tone.

"Calm down, it's just a terminology for battle stations aboard ship." Eric sharply replied. "We say that instead of barking orders to our troops."

"Do not try any foolish tactics human." Gridolee roared. "If you do anything to jeopardize our situation, you'll pay with your life."

"Gridolee!" Elder Bortello roared. "Your words shame the honor of the Mirratord. These humans have yet to show any ill-trust toward us, but you continue to induce suspicion. Domadree has informed me of your actions in the past, but I never thought this would be possible within the Mirratord." Elder Bortello cautiously walked up the ramp to the command pedestal and came face to face with Gridolee. The massive Mirratord warrior could only hang his head in shame for angering the elite elder.

"This time, the sergeant will not interfere with your lack of focus, Gridolee." Domadree stated. "We can not work alongside the humans if you are constantly reminding them of the past. Report to your quarters, immediately, and when this threat is dealt with, we will have a long talk."

"You shame me, Gridolee." Elder Bortello growled. "I see that it was mistake to allow one so young to join the ranks of the elite's finest warriors. Even our enemies deserve respect. This is one of the higher rules of the Mirratord." Elder Bortello reached out and removed one of Gridolee's plasma blade hilts; leaving him with only one sword.

"Forgive me elder." Gridolee understood his punishment, but it only fueled his hatred for the human's that stood around him. He held his head low as he walked from the command pedestal; daring not to appear taller then any elite on the bridge. He had shamed his superior officer and an elder, meaning that he had to have his head lower then any elite near him until the elder returned his blade.

Gridolee held his head low until he exited the bridge. The doors closed behind him and he stood tall again.

"Blood will be shed this day, humans." Gridolee snarled to himself. His distaste for the humans was at an all time high. His room was not far, all senior officer's quarters where stationed on the command deck. He shortly arrived at the hallway to his room and passed several groups of humans, talking amongst themselves and looking at him oddly. The talks of cease fire aboard the ship removed the humans' fear, and he hated that the humans did not fear his presence. He turned down the hall and ignored them. He arrived at his quarters and the door opened. As he stepped into the room he heard footsteps racing up the corridor toward him.

"A human, running, and alone." Gridolee thought to himself. He stepped into his door and lowered his posture. He left the door open and listened to the human's footsteps. He drowned out all of the ambient noise from the hallway, listening for other humans in the area. Waiting to hear if any other humans were around, but only the footsteps of the lone soldier filled his ears.

He waited.

Gridolee suddenly reached out with his left hand and grabbed the soldier that ran down the hall, just as he passed his open door. Gridolee could feel the soft thin skin of the human's neck in his hand and he pulled the frail creature into his room. The door closed and sealed shut.

The elite's monstrously large hand engulfed part of the man's face and his neck. His four fingers gripped tightly around his head, as the elite lifted him from the ground and growled deeply. Gridolee quickly slapped the human's weapon away and pinned him against the wall; gazing ferociously into his eyes. Fear, the human was rank with it. His smothered screams, his eyes expanded fully, and his pores flowed with sweat. The human kicked and clawed feverishly, but to little affect.

Gridolee began to think to himself; "This one human would go unnoticed for quite sometime if he was killed. No one would ever know what happened to him. I could spill his blood and his death would be a mystery. Eventually the humans would worry, and begin to look for him, and his body would be found. Fear would once again fill the pathetic creature's hearts. They would respect us and fear us." Gridolee liked his plan, and he liked the idea of smothering his hands in the crimson red blood of the terrified human he had in his grip. He slowly began to squeeze, and the man's pale white skin began to change color; first a deep red, then a slight blue blue. The man began to kick and squirm even more as he felt the intense pressure building up within his head.

"Unless you want me to feed this video onto the bridge, I suggest you let him go, now!" Siren stated through Gridolee's room speaker. Gridolee paused and stopped squeezing the human's head. He had forgotten about the construct and its ever watching eyes. "You can consider this your only warning from me, Lieutenant. If he dies I will vacuum all the air out of this room and kill you without a second thought."

Gridolee walked to the door, dragging the human with him. He opened the door and tossed the frail creature into the hallway. The man rolled and slammed into the opposite wall. The door hissed shut on Gridolee and Siren sealed him inside.

"That elite is going to be one serious pain in my ass." Siren stated in the hallway intercom. She then switched channels and spoke into the marines helmet com. "You alright, Wesley?"

Wesley sat up and leaned against the wall. His head was throbbing from the intense pressure of Gridolee's grip. His eyes blanked as he stared at the door across from him. What had just happened to him? Shock quickly began to consume him as his limbs began to tremble uncontrollably. He was running down the hall, and suddenly something grabbed him, something from the darkness. His head was hurting and he was being smothered. He couldn't scream or fight it.

The deep black eyes of a monster, was all that he could remember. Wesley tried to stand up, but he lost control of his legs and fell to the floor.

"Private, stay put." Siren stated into his com. "A med team is on the way. Just relax, you're going into shock."

* * *

"Distance?" Domadree demanded from his command crew.

"Three million and closing, captain." An elite roared.

"Communications?" Domadree questioned.

"None." Another elite replied.

"Damn it." Eric stated. "They're running silent and coming up our butts."

"Sergeant, I will attempt to contact them, but if they see you and the other humans then there may be some confusion if they are allies." Domadree stated.

"Understood." Eric stated as he began to walk of the pedestal. "Red Squad, clear the bridge; double time." The marines all gathered their gear and quickly emptied the bridge. Once Eric exited, the door quickly hissed shut.

"Communications, hail them." Domadree stated.

"They are responding captain." The com officer replied. A video screen appeared in front of the command pedestal and the image of a highly decorated brute displayed on screen.

"Life and Sacrifice, you have not been given permission to leave the human world." The brute roared. "Why have you abandoned your post?"

"The hierarchs decided that we needed to return." Domadree stated. "Surely you have heard that the holy prophet of Regret has left the human world?"

"The hierarchs would not recall this attack, elite." The brute snarled, letting his teeth shine in the transmission; a show of aggression.

"Do not play ignorant brute, we know the situation." Domadree stated.

"Do you?" The brute laughed. "I don't believe you have any idea of what is happening. Your time has come, prepare to die."

"Captain, four slip space incursions appearing in our path." Siren stated. "They're materializing." The forward screen showed four cruisers all matching the size of the Life and Sacrifice. "Weapons powered, plasma inductors pressurized, and decks sealed. We are ready for combat." The bridge door opened and Red Squad returned.

Eric climbed to the top of the pedestal and stated; "Siren, sound General Quarters, and find Wesley."

"All hands to battle stations." Siren's voice stated over the ship wide com channel. "I repeat. All hands to battle stations." Siren then switched to Eric's private com.

"Eric, there's been a situation." Siren stated to Eric. "Private Williams has been injured and is on his way to a makeshift medical bay on the command deck. It appears that the covenant decided not to put medical facilities on their cruisers."

"What happened, Siren?" Eric smirked. "Did he trip and fall?" Eric chuckled to himself, but Siren's words quickly silenced him.

"Gridolee happened." Siren stated. "He nearly killed him in frustration for being kicked off the bridge."

"Where is he?" Eric stated.

"Wesley is in…" Siren was quickly cut off.

"Gridolee, where's Gridolee?" Eric quietly stated into his helmet com.

"I… I'm not going to tell you." Siren softly mumbled.

"Say that again." Eric demanded. Siren remained silent and returned to her primary functions of defending the ship.

"Captain two of the forward ships are reducing speed, and arming plasma cannons." An elite stated. "Shall we fire?"

"Captain, I can target and recalibrate the plasma cannons much faster if you give me control." Siren added.

"Very well." Domadree stated. "Weapons, let the construct take control. Helm, take the ship to coordinates 300, 000, 300." Domadree keyed in the spatial grid of the slip space tunnel and verified his coordinates. He then looked back toward the helmsman and added, "Once we reach the coordinates, reduce speed by half and bring us directly over the pursuing ship."

"Yes captain." The elite returned.

"Captain, weapons ready to fire." Siren returned.

The cold plasma curls of slip space roared around the six covenant cruisers. The life and Sacrifice quickly rose to the upper edge of the slip space threshold. The trailing brute ship increased its speed and closed in; firing its plasma torpedoes toward the Life and Sacrifice. The Life and Sacrifice reduced speed and the brute ship roared beneath the ship. The plasma torpedoes arched passed the ship and could not track them. The life ans Sacrifice slipped effortlessly between the torpedoes, and they soon faded after loosing track of their targets. The two ships rubbed shields and rocked from the impact.

"Construct, fire all lower turrets." Domadree yelled. "Helm, increase speed and bare to 150, 010, 100." The Life and Sacrifice's lower weapons fired concentrated beams of focused plasma and the relative closeness made the shields useless. The brute controlled ship buckled and imploded as its hull crumbled upon itself. It faded from view as it shattered hull tumbled into the void of slip space.

"Excellent, they over shot us." Eric sighed.

"We are not done yet." Domadree replied.

"Incoming fire!" An elite roared.

"Evade." Domadree screamed.

"It is too close." The elite returned.

"Brace for impact." Domadree shouted. The ship rocked from the impact of the plasma torpedo but the ship held its ground. "Status report."

"Shields at 70 percent and… rising." The elite curiously stated. "We were hit from all four ships, how is this possible?"

"Don't think, react." Eric snapped. "There are still four ships out there!"

"Helm, increase speed by forty units and put us directly between all four ships." Domadree ordered. "They fired their aft turrets and they will need time to recharge. Construct, target the upper left ship and fire with the forward turrets."

The Life and Sacrifice plowed ahead firing it's fully charged upper turrets. Siren's modifications allowed the concentrated plasma to tear through the ships shields and pierce the hull.

"Captain, target one is listing but still intact." Another elite roared. "They are arming turrets. The other ships are spinning on their centers, turning to face us!"

"Clever." Domadree stated. He watched as the other three ships turned 180 degrees and pointed their forward turrets at the Life and sacrifice. "But the stupid brutes will sacrifice speed with that trick. Helm increase engines another forty units. Construct, prepare mid turrets and aft turrets."

"Incoming." Eric shouted.

"Helm, evade to 76 mark 2." Domadree roared as he double checked his navigations display.

"Torpedo evaded, but it is tracking." An elite roared. "Our relative speed is giving us an advantage."

"Helm, realign to center, bare 000, 211, 000." Domadree barked. "Construct, target the three undamaged ships with our mid section turrets. Helm, after we fire bare to 22 mark 8." The ship rose to the center of the four brute ship's formation, and the mid turrets cut through their shields. One ship snapped from the blow to its mid section, and began to tear apart. The other two ships began to list but leveled out as their crews regain control. The life and Sacrifice then rolled toward the first ship they crippled, and scraped passed it by only three thousand feet.

Suddenly the crippled ship was engulfed by the plasma torpedo that was still pursuing the Life and Sacrifice. The relative closeness to the ship caused the torpedo to alter its target. The crippled ship began to bloom and spark as its hull melted away. The ship's inner frame became exposed and it quickly drifted off into the edge of the slip stream. It was then ripped from existence within the plasma engulfed fringes of slip space.

"Construct, fire aft turrets at the remaining two targets." Domadree roared. The aft turrets powered and focused beams of plasma split them from stem to stern. The two ships imploded sending charred fragments into all directions. "Helm, return the ship to axis center and recalibrate engine speed to normal."

"Captain, all threats neutralized." Siren stated. The humans all began to cheer as the elites watched; confused at the human's show of relief.

"How were we able to survive this?" Domadree pondered. "We were out numbered, but evenly matched. Clearly the brutes had the upper hand."

"Let's just say you had an angel on your side." Siren laughed. "I was able to focus shield strength to the areas where the plasma torpedoes would impact, greatly reducing the result. And thanks to my older sister, Cortana, I was quickly able to alter the plasma inductors to produce a more powerful, and accurate, plasma turret. I've scanned local relative space and there are no signs of brute reinforcement, and I was successfully able to jam all five brute ships, so they were not able to send out transmission."

"I see." Domadree stated in awe. "You humans have a very resourceful construct aiding you." He stated to Eric.

"Sometimes, but normally they're just a pain in my ass." Eric roared. "Captain, where is Gridolee's room? He and I have unfinished business."

"I recommend you avoid him, sergeant." Domadree stated. "He does not like your kind. I only wish I knew where his hatred brews from."

"Thirty years of war can bring out the worst in any soldier, captain." Eric replied. "Even the best warrior can give in to hate."

"If you wish to speak with him, please allow Elder Bartello to accompany you." Domadree stated as he looked to the elder standing below the command pedestal.

"I would gladly assist you, sergeant." The elder added.

"Not this time." Eric stated. "This is between warriors. Something I'm sure you understand."

"His quarters are not far." Domadree stated. "Once you leave the bridge, bare to your right, fallow the corridor until it splits, then bare left. His door is the second one to your right."

"Thanks, I'll be back shortly." Eric stated.

"I fear for your safety, sergeant." Domadree added.

"Noted." Eric stated. Eric left the bridge and soon arrived at Gridolee's door. Several marines fallowed him but he waved them off. He stood at the door and knocked.

"He can't open it." Siren replied into his com.

"Then you open it." Eric barked.

"Why Eric?" Siren questioned. "If you go in there, he will kill you."

"I gave you an order, Siren." Eric snapped. "Obey it."

"I will not obey that order, Eric." Siren stated. "I won't let you throw your life away. No matter how strong you think you are you can't handle him. Colonel Ackerson may have given you some upgrades, but don't get arrogant. You know your limits."

"You're stubborn, you know that?" Eric sighed.

"It takes one to know one." Siren returned.

Eric giggled and replied, "Funny, an old friend of mine use to say that. Now open this door, I don't want to do this, but I have to. If I don't stand up to these elites, this will only cause problems later on for us. Check your data on elites. You know that we can't let them think we fear them. Now open the door."

"Promise me one thing, Eric." Siren pleaded. "If it gets out of control, I can call for support?"

"If I die in here, the only person that needs to know is the captain." Eric replied. "Then I want you to tell Wesley and Peters to take command of this operation."

"If you die in that room all hell is going to break loose." Siren replied. "This ship will become a battlefield."

"Then you better make sure that everyone knows that I did this, and Gridolee killed me, not the other elites." Eric returned. "Make sure Peters and the captain know what happened. They'll know how to handle this, but I don't think I'm going to die; at least not today. Now open it up."

The door quickly hissed open, and Gridolee sat upon his oddly shaped seat. He gazed at Eric with a wicked snarl, but did not stand.

"Here to avenge your fellow warrior, sergeant?" Gridolee snarled.

"You know, I promised you a fight earlier, didn't I?" Eric stepped into the room and tossed his side arm and battle riffle into the hall. "Shall we dance… big boy!" Gridolee rose from his seat and towered over Eric. He removed his blade and tossed it out of the door. He twisted his arm guard and shut down his personal shield. If an elite could smile, then Gridolee's smirk could best be summed up as an expression of happiness. Finally he would get what he wanted.

Eric exploded with unrelenting aggression toward the monstrous elite. Gridolee roared his approval and charged back at the small human before him. The two warriors collided and the door to Gridolee's room slammed shut; roars and screams echoed from within the sealed room. The thud of bodies slamming against the walls reverberated in the hallway.

"Melanie, Rose, get to the command deck, and hurry!" Siren nervously stated into the hallway com system of the twelfth deck.

"Siren?" Rose questioned, hearing the horrified tone in Siren's voice.

"It's Eric, you have to stop him. The elite might kill him!"

_**To be continued…**_


	11. The dark side of Troy

**Stage 11: The Dark side of Troy**

Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
Slip Space time difference 4 hours:  
17:49 October 21, 2552  
Slip Space to elite home world; Dorenth

Massive strength, four fingers, seven feet tall, and quick reflexes; the elite warrior is a formidable foe for any Spartan to tussle with. Their complex mind is war torn, battle ready and always sharp. They never seem to relax in battle, always watchful, always ready, and impressively knowledgeable of combat. If God created a creature of war, the elite is that creature.

No ordinary man, short of being a Spartan, would dare stand face to face with these alien creatures without a weapon, but Eric Raynord was no ordinary man. He challenged the beast directly, showing no fear, no apprehension or doubt. He knew his limits, he knew his strength and he knew going up against the elite was not the smartest idea, but someone needed to put Gridolee in his place. Eric was very much aware that the other elites would continue to berate this aggressive warrior known as Gridolee, but only force would calm his hostility. Only a human could slow his furry and feed his blood lust. Eric didn't want to, but it wasn't the first time he had rumbled with an elite head-to-head.

Gridolee was the largest elite on the ship, and by far the most aggressive. Then there was also the added bonus of his training within the Mirratord. Gridolee was not only massive and far stronger then most elites, he was also agile, quick, and skilled at hand to hand combat.

Eric quietly wished that he were a full Spartan. The added speed and strength would be useful, but for now he would have to hope his own enhancements would be enough.

Gridolee landed the first blow, a deadly strike that slammed across Eric's shoulder. The blow sent Eric to one side of the room; slamming forcefully against the wall. Gridolee roared as he dashed across the room, thinking that the Sergeant would be easily subdued.

Eric turned his head and glared at the elite that was bearing down on him. His vision began to sharpen, his eyes focused and he pushed the pain from his shoulder into the depths of his mind. The harder he focused on the elite the more everything appeared to be moving in slow motion. He could see things clearly, he could hear his own heart racing and he quickly ducked Gridolee's massive fist. Eric planted his foot firmly on the ground and opened the palm of his right hand. Gridolee swung madly, and blindly at Eric, but missed completely as Eric ducked and countered with the open palm of his hand.

He struck Gridolee square in the center of his head, between the elite's eyes, with his open palm. Eric used the full length of his arm, not just his hand strength. The combined speed and force of the blow was like a piston striking concrete. Gridolee's head rocked backward and he groaned deeply. Eric wished he had a Spartan's strength because the blow he hit the elite with would have surely knocked it off of its feet. Eric pulled his hand back and timed his next move. On cue Gridolee began to return his head to its normal level and Eric jumped into the air; raising his knee toward the base of the elite's skull. Contact… or so Eric thought. Eric took notice that Gridolee had crossed his arms under his chin and blocked his blow.

"Shit." Eric cursed. Gridolee gripped Eric's leg and flung him against the wall. Eric's lungs flattened from the impact and all the air exploded violently out of his lungs. He felt the urge to pass out, but gathered his composure. He couldn't breathe, and knew that the elite wouldn't give him a time out.

Gridolee was far too strong and much quicker then Eric believed possible. The only option to beating him was speed, and patients. He charged again and Eric waited. With each passing moment Eric tried to inhale, but searing pain filled his chest each time. He couldn't breathe because of the sudden shock to his lungs. Short breaths were all he could manage for now. Eventually his breathing would regulate, but he couldn't wait. Gridolee lunged across the room, catching Eric slightly off guard. He was thinking the elite would throw punches or kick, not dive at him.

Eric tried to side step Gridolee's approach, but the elite stretched his arms wide and caught Eric by the arm. This was bad, and panic gripped Eric. Gridolee pulled him in and slammed his fist into Eric's back. Eric screamed and tried to pull away, to little affect. Gridolee then gripped Eric around the waist and lifted him off the ground.

What was he thinking? Eric pleaded in his own mind. How could he possibly think he could beat this monster? Eric soon found himself weightless as Gridolee forcefully began to throw him backwards toward the deck.

"No!" Eric screamed. The shout caught Gridolee's attention as he forcefully throttled Eric toward the floor. Eric quickly took advantage of Gridolee's loose grip and turned over. He raised his arms and braced himself before hitting the deck. With a solid thud Eric landed, absorbing the majority of the fall with his arms. Gridolee added more pressure by pushing down, but Eric held firm. There was a sudden explosion of pain in the back of his neck and Eric's body quickly went numb. He could still feel but any form of pain in his body quickly vanished. He sprang to his feet, smoothly raising his right fist, and caught Gridolee in the chest. The elite groaned, wincing in pain. He kicked out, striking Eric in the stomach. Eric was tossed across the room again, but felt no pain. He hit the opposite wall of the room and repelled off of it; dashing at full speed toward Gridolee. Gridolee swung wildly, missing as Eric dodged and blocked with his left arm. Eric then used his momentum and once again struck Gridolee between the eyes with his open palm. Eric's momentum carried him forward and he locked his elbow and pushed harder into Gridolee's head using extra force from his shoulder. Once Eric's back foot landed on the ground and he pressed even harder with the full weight of his body.

The two warriors tumbled and rolled to the ground. Gridolee grabbed Eric's hand and tossed him over his head and he once again slammed into the wall.

Gridolee slowly stood to his feet. His face throbbed and his mind was slowly fading as consciousness began to slip away. The human had wounded him greatly, and the pain was coursing down his spine. The blow to his face had reared his head back so suddenly, and violently, that Gridolee's spine had compressed. Gridolee dropped to one knee, cursing to himself in his own tongue. His aggression had blinded him and he failed to judge the human's abilities. His legs were becoming numb and his thoughts clouded as the pain began to intensify. He looked up and spotted the human charging at him again.

"Focus." Gridolee thought to himself. "This human has strength, but he is nothing compared to the Demon. I must focus, remember my training and push aside the pain."

Eric kicked out with his foot and Gridolee grabbed it with little effort. He pulled Eric closer and gripped his neck with his left hand. Eric was stunned at the sudden fluid speed Gridolee had displayed. He hadn't seen the elite react and was caught off guard by the fluid movements. It quickly dawned on him that Gridolee was beginning to take him seriously.

Everything about the elite had changed. His movement, his breathing, his stance and his posture were all different. He held Eric in his hand and slowly began to squeeze his throat like a vice. Eric grabbed his arm and violent began to struggle to get free, but he couldn't escape the elite's hold. Gridolee then brought up his free hand, and with both hands he squeezed tighter and tighter.

Eric felt darkness consume him. He felt light headed rapidly and new that this wasn't a good thing. He was stupid for trying to fight the elite in such a small room, stupid for thinking he could best something twice his size and speed, but he wasn't going to give up.

He grabbed Gridolee's arms and lifted his legs. The sudden shift in weight forced Gridolee to bend over as Eric's back rested against the floor, but the elite never released Eric from the death grip. Eric wrapped his legs around Gridolee's arms as his vision faded. He could no longer see the elite's face, but he knew it was there. With his left foot he felt for Gridolee's head, and when he found it he used his left foot as a guide for his right foot.

The first blow sent a mind numbing surge throughout Gridolee's body. The size eleven boot felt as though it had gone through his brain, but it was nothing compared to the second blow he felt. Eric's right foot impacted Gridolee's head with such force that Eric pushed himself free and sent Gridolee backwards; slamming into the opposite wall.

Gridolee felt tremendous pain in every inch of his body. His face felt numb, his back screamed, and even his feet seemed to feel the blow. He opened his eyes and couldn't focus, his vision was staggered. He tried to gaze at the human lying across from him, but all he could see was the silhouette image of Eric lying on the floor. Gridolee could no longer stand the pain. It had been too long since he had last used his Mirratord teachings on how to ignore pain, and now he was suffering for his lack of training. He slumped against the wall and slowly slid to the ground as consciousness escaped him.

For Eric, the moment Gridolee's grip left Eric's throat there was a sudden surge of blood back into his head. This caused several actions to take place. First his brain shut down so that no damage would occur, then his body dispersed the blood to other areas, and his heart stopped for a moment so that the sudden pressure change wouldn't force the blood to build up in his head. Essentially, he blacked out.

* * *

"It's over." Siren stated in the hallway that Rose and Melanie were running down. "Life signs are weak but Eric is alive. His Neural Lace is responding and sending a clear signal. I can't tell if the elite is dead or alive, but he's hurt." 

"Good for Eric." Rose pleaded as she increased her pace. "How much further?"

"A few more corners and you will be there." Siren replied. "Medical teams are on the way."

"What's Eric's vitals?" Melanie questioned as she turned a corner at full stride, going fast enough so that Rose could keep up.

"Blood pressure is through the roof, heart rate is slow; most likely compensating for the high pressure." Siren stated as she mentally scanned Eric's vital signs via his Neural Lace. "He's losing blood through the ears and nose, dislocated shoulder, broken right foot, two cracked ribs, lung damage… I think I'll stop, but the list goes on." Her voice was panicked as she listed his injuries.

"Jesus." Rose stated.

"He'll be fine." Melanie stated. "He's been through worse."

They reached the door just as the medical team arrived, along with four grunts, and another elite bearing red armor. The marine's medical team quickly sprinted toward Eric and cautiously stretched him out as Siren spoke to each of them through their personal com links. She told each of them the severity of his injures as they struggled to stabilize him.

The elite and the four grunts quickly ran over to Gridolee. One of the grunts connected a small device to Gridolee's black armor and it began to list information about his injuries. The red elite looked back at the humans and shook his head with doubt.

"How is it that this human could do such damage to one with such skill as the lieutenant?" The elite mumbled. The grunts quickly placed two metal rods beneath Gridolee, and there was a soft hum as a purple light began to connect the two poles. The light began to intensify as the grunts lifted Gridolee from the ground and started walking from the room. The red elite followed, giving no further concern to Eric.

Rose gently began to wipe the blood from Eric's ears and nose as the medics strapped Eric to one of the covenant stretchers. The purple light engulfed him and he was lifted from the floor.

"Yeah, he's been through a lot worse." Melanie stated. The medical team cautiously carried Eric from the room as Melanie and Rose followed.

* * *

"Captain." Siren stated through the bridge intercom. "Both Lieutenant Gridolee and Sergeant Raynord are being sent to the temporary infirmary. The medical teams will do what they can." 

"Who was the victor, construct?" Domadree questioned. The other elites on the bridge, as well as Red Squad, were also eager to hear the results.

"Both and neither." Siren returned.

"Explain." Domadree stated. The command crew and Red Squad eagerly listening.

"They did a job on each other, there was no clear victor." Siren stated. "Each suffered substantial injuries, but neither of them walked away from the fight. They are both unconscious and being given medical attention."

"I see." Domadree stated. He then ventured off into his own thoughts saying, "I was correct in having my suspicions of the Sergeant. Gridolee's strength was clear, but the Sergeant must have something special about him. No normal human can compare to the strength, or skill, of an elite."

* * *

The temporary infirmary on the command deck was bustling with activity. Wounded elites from the first battle against the brutes were still being attended to by other elites and grunts that had been trained for medical situations. The room itself was fairly large in size, and chairs and tables from around the deck were brought in. A curtain was erected in order to divide the room into two sections. When Gridolee was brought into the room he was quickly attended to by the grunts and elites. As a senior officer, his rank garnered him respect and honor, so all other injured warriors would have to wait to be treated. Eric received the same respect from his human medical team when he was brought in. 

Wesley slowly sat up as he realized who was being brought into the room. He ignored the activity on the other side of the curtain, but quickly took notice of Eric. Several other wounded marines also took notice.

"Blood pressure is down." A medic stated. "I'm going to reset his shoulder." The medic gripped Eric's arm and began to pull, but to his amazement he couldn't pull Eric's arm free from the socket.

"You better let me help." Melanie stated as she walked through the curtain. She placed her gun on an empty table and stood beside the medic. She quickly gripped Eric's shoulder while the medic placed a hand on his shoulder joint. Melanie gave Eric's arm a long tug and eventually it shifted back into place.

"I don't think I've seen a muscle so tense before." The medic stated. "How did you do that?"

"You'll find that Eric and I are full of surprises." Melanie smiled.

"Chief Warrant Officer, it would appear that you are now in command." Siren stated into the com system.

"What?" Rose questioned oddly. She walked closer to Eric and placed a hand on his shoulder while Wesley watched; keeping silent in his chair.

"Eric's orders were for Wesley and Melanie to take command, but Wesley is still not stable." Siren replied. Wesley sat up right, curious at the statement.

"I'm fine." He shouted. Rose turned and noticed Wesley sitting in the corner. She quickly walked over, looking confused.

"What happened to you?" Rose questioned. Wesley wanted to smile, he hadn't seen Rose show this much concern for him in a long time. He liked the attention.

"Another victim of Gridolee." Siren commented.

"That elite bastard got to Eric too?" Wesley curiously questioned toward Siren's statement.

"Don't worry, kid." Melanie returned. "The sarge left a few scars on him as well. Take a look on the other side of the curtain." Wesley stood and walked to the curtain, pulling it slightly to the side, and saw the massive elite lying on the table as grunts tended to his wounds. Wesley began to tremble as he gazed at the elite. Memories flashed back to his forefront and he began to panic. That was the monster that nearly killed him. The elite was monstrous in size and build, bigger then any elite he had ever seen. Another elite in red armor saw Wesley looking through the curtain and slowly walked toward him. Shock quickly surged through Wesley as the elite approached. He was afraid, terrified to move. He wanted to scream but couldn't. The elite reached out and took the curtain from Wesley's hand and closed and closed it

Wesley hung his head and steadied his breathing. He was then startled as Rose placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Come back and sit down." She said calmly. Wesley looked around the room and saw that everyone was looking at him, and they had all seen him loose it. "It's okay." Rose stated calmly.

"As I said, Wesley is not stable." Siren repeated. "Melanie, you're in command until the sergeant recovers. Which shouldn't be long, a day maybe."

"What the hell?" A medic awkwardly questioned. "What is this?" The medic had removed Eric's shirt and armor and saw that his body was scarred horribly. Long scars ran up the length of his arms and his chest.

"The scars are clean, and old." Another medic stated. "There was extensive laser surgery on nearly every quarter of his body. What could have happened to him to need this much work?"

"Like I said," Melanie commented. "Eric and I have our secrets." Melanie rolled up her sleeve and exposed her arm, showing the same form of scars.

"Eric." Rose stated with a gasp. She left Wesley and walked to the table where Eric laid. She rubbed her hand across his arm and chest scars.

"What happened to you two?" Rose questioned as she turned to Melanie. Melanie smiled and sat in a nearby chair. The medics returned to working on Eric but their attention was clearly on Melanie. She took off her helmet and relaxed.

"We trusted the military more then we should have." Melanie calmly stated.

* * *

UNSC Medical Facility  
January 12, 2539  
Colony world: Troy 

"_If you think that we have the potential to succeed then do it! I don't care about Halsey and her freaks. My project has the potential to go well beyond them in only a fraction of the time. Do whatever needs to be done, but get the studies completed ASAP. I won't a full report on my desk in three weeks, or you can kiss your career goodbye!" _

The video feed faded leaving a lone woman pondering what she had heard. The woman gazed into the blank screen for a moment in order to gather her thoughts, and her composure. She then stood and kicked the base of the monitor with all of her force. The small machine tumbled to the floor, spilling paper and pens in all directions. She smirked at the mess and stormed out of her office. The door closed behind her and she slipped her hand into the pockets of her jacket.

"Ackerson, you pompous jerk." She mumbled to herself. "But I guess I'm a fool for bringing it up." She walked down the hall and entered a secured section of the UNSC medical facility. "How many of these experiments are you conducting around the galaxy? There is no way that the UNSC Special Weapons committee would approve of these actions. I never should have mentioned this idea."

She rounded a corner and before her was an open ledge over looking a two-way mirrored ceiling. She could clearly see everything and everyone in the room below, but they could not see her above them. There, beneath her watchful eyes, sat twenty-five men and twenty-five women. Fifty of the best soldiers stationed on Troy. But these marines and ODST's never attended any military schools. The brass would never let their future prospects sign up for experiments such as this. These soldiers were men and women that had volunteered to join the military; grunts. When battle would come, they would be sent in as cannon fodder against the Covenant horde.

As she looked down at the fifty humans beneath her, the woman realized that their lives were in her hands. They were awake, talking to each other and trying not to think about the duties they were about to perform. They had been thoroughly sanitized and wore nothing but standard hospital garments. The men wore loose fitting paper shorts while the women wore similar shorts and paper tops. The paper tops the women had to ware were too small for some of the more buxom women, in which case they had to fold their arms across their chest to keep themselves from being exposed. The silliness of the paper garments was a running joke to them all, but they didn't complain.

They were a mixed group of soldiers and most of them didn't live on Troy. As the Covenant threat came closer and closer, the UNSC began to ship soldiers to Troy from all corners of the inner colonies, including Earth. In this group sat four such earthlings. Privates Eric Raynord, Kim Peters, Melanie Peters, and Ralph Wiggum sat close to each other and struggled hard against ripping the garments off of each other. During their dorm days in college, such clothes would have easily been used as fuel for practical jokes. Together they had fought and killed many of the Covenant invaders while they did their tour of duty in the outer colonies, but always they were forced to retreat. This group was lucky because they escaped death on many occasions, only to do it again. That was a quality that the researchers wanted to see; they wanted survivors.

"Doctor?" A man said as he looked toward the woman. She was startled out of her gaze and turned to see the man that had addressed her. He stood near a door leading into the lower room where the soldiers were socializing.

"You may begin." The women stated. The man sighed and lowered his head as he turned and walked through the door. "May God have mercy on my soul."

The doctor walked into the room and addressed the soldiers before him, "Atten-hut!" An older volunteer stated across the room. They all snapped to attention quickly while quickly running back to the front of their beds.

"At ease." The doctor stated as he walked down the isle. He looked at each face as he slowly walked down the center of the room. His eye naturally glanced upward at the reflective mirror, knowing that the head doctor was up there watching. He then turned and addressed the group.

"It gives me a great sense of joy to tell you this." The doctor stated with a smile. "We have been given a clear signal to begin the procedure. Your efforts here will ensure the success of humanity in the future, as we push back these Covenant invaders." The group of soldiers all smiled and nodded happily. "On behalf of everyone you have met during your stay, I say thank you for volunteering." The side door to the room opened and several doctors and nurses entered the room with metal carts filled with syringes.

"We will begin immediately." The doctor stated with a forced smile. "If you will all lay at your assigned bed, a nurse will begin your treatments." The doctor looked up once again, starring at the reflection above. She was watching, he knew that she was watching and listening to every word that was said. Her research was about to be implemented, and despite the success ratio, she was told to do it anyway. The man lowered his head, consumed in the horror of what was about to be done, and how he just lied to fifty people that believed they would be the next generation of Spartans. He looked up and gazed into the eyes of a well-toned black man. He walked closer to the man's bed and looked at his chart.

"Private Eric Raynord." The doctor read to himself. "South America, Mexico, Earth. You're a long way from home, Private." The doctor mumbled.

"I'll go as far as I need to in order to stop the covenant." Eric replied.

"Oh, sorry, I must have been thinking out loud." The doctor added. A nurse quickly walked up to Eric and injected him with an old fashioned syringe. The needle worked its way into Eric's arm, and the nurse slowly injected him with its contents.

"So how long before we can all get back into the fight?" Eric questioned as the nurse walked away. He was already beginning to feel the affects of the drug. The doctor's conscious quickly got the better of him and he leaned closer to Eric.

He then whispered, "I'm sorry." The doctor then turned and walked away. Eric was puzzled by the words, curious as to why the doctor would apologize. The drugs were quickly beginning to take affect and he was finding it harder and harder to stay conscious. He watched as several of the doctors and nurses began to roll the beds of several soldiers out of the room. He then noticed another nurse run into the room with red and blue bands in her hands. She quickly walked to every bed and wrapped the bands around the unconscious soldiers wrists. She approached Eric and placed a blue band on his left wrist. He followed the nurse for as long as he could and watched as she placed a blue band on Kim and Melanie. She then reached Ralph and placed a red band on his wrist. Eric felt concern that his friend was marked differently but his concerns were quickly forgotten as the drugs rendered him unconscious.

High above the room, and peering closely through the two-way mirror, the doctor sat quietly and absorbed the overall actions of the fifty soldiers. She took mental notes of all them and wrote down several important facts on her data pad. Her focus quickly turned to the one soldier that took the longest to be rendered unconscious. She pressed in the location of his bed into her data pad.

"Eric Raynord." She stated curiously. "A private from Earth." She then entered a number into her data pad beside his name.

"Doctor, the first test subject is ready." A nurse stated over the hallway communication system. The doctor turned and walked toward the main operating room. As she entered she was quickly aided by one of the nurses. After dressing in her surgical uniform she walked closer to the body of the ODST that was first to be brought in. On his left wrist was a red band.

"Does the first one have to be red?" The head doctor questioned to herself. She walked to the unconscious man and gazed at him.

"Doctor, I recommend not looking at him." The male doctor stated. "It will only add to the difficulty at hand. You should know this. He's marked as Red, we need to move on."

"You're right." She replied. "Test Subject one, male, age 22. Beginning muscle enhancement study on heart, lungs, chest, and upper back."

"Yes doctor." The man replied with a soft sigh. After twenty minutes of operating the man sat up from the blood soaked table. His brow filled with sweat, as a nurse dabbed him with a soft dry cloth. "Time, twenty minutes. First test was a success. Muscles responded well to treatment, but cellular collapse accord. Test subject died at 0840. We're ready for the second test subject."

"Data recorded." The lead doctor stated. Her heart filled with remorse. In clinical terms, she and her staff had just committed murder. Her studies needed reliable data, and only from extensive research on living healthy soldiers would the best results be found. "I'll perform the next procedure doctor. You look as though you could use a moment to breath." A cold lump was in her throat. She didn't want to do this, but if her findings were accurate, they could have stronger and faster soldiers in the war before the end of the month. This was her duty and these men and women were giving their lives for the advancement of humanity.

"Thank you doctor." The man replied, his face pale from the shock of what he had just done. He turned and a nurse removed his bloody gloves and garment. He was then aided with clean garments as the woman passed her data pad to him to record the information. As the body atop the first bed was rolled out, another living subject was brought in, a young woman wearing a red wristband. The male doctor looked the woman over and lowered his eyes as he saw the red wristband. "Red for test subject and blue for application. 25 will die, and hopefully 25 will live." The doctor thought to himself.

"Test Subject two, female, age 22. Beginning muscle enhancement study on heart, lungs, chest, and upper back." The female doctor stated. She never looked at the woman's face, never raised her head away from the location she was studying. Soon, another soldier's life was taken in the name of research.

After ten hours of surgery the first 25 tests were complete. The data gathered would be used to enhance the muscle application to the remaining 25 soldiers. Which were being cautiously monitored in a separate room. They were all sedated and being slowly given a drug that would aid them in acquiring the muscle enhancements.

"Two hour break everyone." The female doctor stated as her aids quickly removed her bloody garments. "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me." The female doctor stormed out of the room, with her data pad in hand. Once she exited the operating room, she began to run up the stairs and entered her office. The door closed behind her and she stood motionless for several seconds. Darkness encompassed the room as she gathered her thoughts.

"Don't loose it now." She sternly roared to herself. "I have two hours. Two hours to study and prepare for the first patient. I can't let any more of them die. I won't kill any more of them." She walked further into the room and the lights automatically began to power on. She sat at her desk and focused on the data pad in her hand. The men and women she had just killed were now just stats and data to her, and she knew she had to keep it that way otherwise she would loose her focus.

"Chief Betty." The doctor stated in her desk communicator.

"Yes doctor?" The head technician replied.

"According to my notes, the subjects' hearts begin to tear themselves apart once we begin to revive them." The doctor stated. "Begin administering a mild counter agent now. That should prevent that from happening."

"Sure thing doctor." Betty replied. She turned and looked at the 25 heavily sedated soldiers and silently sighed. All of them were connected to breathing masks and several intravenous tubes connected to their arms. She motioned for another nurse to come closer. She pressed several buttons on her main terminal and the contents of the IV's changed. Soon a pink colored material flowed down the line. "Doctor, the counter agent is being supplied. We will begin checking the patients for side affects."

"Thank you Betty." The doctor replied. "Notify me immediately if there are any adverse affects."

"Yes doctor." Betty replied. "And doctor, what happened to the first 25? Did we really loose them all?" The doctor blanked out for a moment as she thought how to answer the question. She could only gaze at the communicator blankly.

The doctor didn't know how to reply. She leaned closer and simply whispered, "Yes."

"I'm sure you did all that you could to save them doctor." Betty replied over the communicator. Along with several other nurses, Betty checked the unconscious group of soldiers, each of them wearing the blue wristband. "We learn from them and we move on."

"Thank you Betty, keep me posted." The doctor terminated the com link, and feverishly gazed back into her data.

Two days came and went, and the surgeries were complete. Eric sluggishly opened his eyes and peered at the ceiling above him. His body was numb, his mouth was stuffed with a tube to aid his breathing and the room was filled with activity. He could here the voices of several people happily talking beside him. He wanted to turn his head, but his body didn't respond.

"Doctor, another one is awake." A woman's voice stated. Eric couldn't see the woman that spoke.

"Who is it Betty?" A voice replied.

"Black Op 19." Betty replied. "Eric Raynord, ma'am. Should I run the normal routine?" Eric felt odd hearing the woman call his name and not being able to respond. He also found the label she gave him as being odd. What did Black Op 19 mean?

"No Betty, I want to speak to him directly." The doctor stated over the com. "Start cleaning him up, but don't answer any questions. I'll be there shortly."

"Yes doctor." Betty replied. She walked over to Eric and cautiously removed the tube from his throat. She then began to check all of his vitals on the instrument panel beside his bed. Eric wanted to see what was going on around him, to see the rest of his friends and squad mates.

"Good morning 19." A soft female voice stated. "Chances are you don't know what that means so I'll address you by your birth name, Eric. Your surgery is complete, and the second phase of this procedure will begin soon. You will simply learn to adapt to your newly acquired strength and speed. Relatively speaking, you're faster then normal but not quite as fast as the Spartans, and not quite as strong. Of course, this is also relative to you personally. You will gain or loose speed and strength as your life continues. The enhancements to your body will act just as your normal muscles do, however the potential for strength and speed is beyond measure." The doctor walked over to Eric and looked at him closely.

"I'm sure you have questions." She said softly.

Eric gasped for air, as the added muscle reflexes in his lunges suddenly forced the oxygen from his body. He slowed his breathing and focused on speaking slowly; he understood that his simple motor functions would have to be relearned.

"How are the others?" Eric slowly slurred.

"Of the volunteers…" The doctor paused, thinking hard on how to answer the question. "Of the volunteers only twenty survived." Eric's eyes grew wide.

"Kim, Melanie and Ralph?" He stated with a smoother tone.

"The Peters sisters are fine." The doctor replied. "Wiggum died in surgery. A communication has been sent to Earth, notifying his family." The doctor stated the words while looking away from Eric's face. No one would ever be told of this incident, as Ackerson's cover up had already begun. "You and your squad have had an interesting background, Eric. You've survived some of the worst encounters during your short tour of the outer colonies. Private, you're everything we've been looking for."

Within six hours Eric was on his feet and gingerly walking around the recovery ward. He was sore, and scars lined nearly every inch of his body, but he didn't mind. The scars were his tattoos of service and he wore them proudly. The doctor told him that once all the surgical steps were complete, the scars could be concealed easily, but he turned down that option. He wondered into Kim's room and she quickly sprang from the bed. She had already fully recovered from her surgery and was one of the first to finish.

She looked at Eric with a crooked brow and smiled saying, "Aren't you going to salute?"

"Why, should I?" Eric laughed.

"I out rank you." Kim chuckled. "I'm a Chief Petty Officer now." Eric's jaw dropped but quickly turned into a smile. He quickly snapped a furiously fast salute and then Kim dived into his arms, laughing happily. "I can't believe it, they made me squad leader. I've been brushing up on all the new protocol we have to learn, we're no longer marines, we're officially ONI Spec Ops now."

"Spec Ops?" Eric questioned. "Special Operations? How the hell?"

"We'll be debriefed about it tomorrow, but we have a hell of a lot of shit planned for the second phase of this operation." Kim added. "Apparently they want us to train and show off for a few of the ONI brass planet side. It's a whole list of whose-who in the military."

"So how long will we be jumping through hoops?" Eric sighed. "I want to get back into combat."

"No telling." Kim groaned. "There's only 20 of us, barely enough to form a small platoon, so that's why they're calling us a Black Ops squad. But once the brass see us and see our success, they will ship us out to the edge of the inner colonies to do some clean up of those covenant bastards. We might even get to fight along side the Spartans."

"Maybe." Eric laughed.

"I feel like shit." Melanie stated as she walked into the room. "My butt hurts, my chest hurts, my arms hurt, my neck hurts, and my breasts hurt." She then spotted Eric and wickedly smiled at him. "Eric, I'd ask you to massage my breasts, but I think I'm too sore to be touched."

"Melanie." Kim stated angrily. "Shut up, and solute your superior."

"Eric you got promoted?" Melanie happily shouted. "I knew you would, you deserve it!"

"Mel!" Kim roared. "I was promoted!"

"There goes the squad." Melanie grumbled. "We'll be dead on our first mission. Life was good, I enjoyed it, but now it's over. I should just put a gun to my temple and end it all right now."

"Mel." Eric laughed. "Quit goofing off, you know she deserves it."

"I know." Melanie laughed as she sharply saluted. "If I didn't tease her, she wouldn't know what to do with herself. What's taking Ralph so long? The nurse said the surgeries were complete." Eric lowered his head, remorseful over the loss of their friend.

"He didn't make it." Kim added. The trio was silent for a short while as they thought of a suitable response to the situation, but they couldn't think of anything to say. The doctor soon entered the room with an ODST dressed in full gear.

"19, 04 and 05, this is Lieutenant Samson of the third Troy Division ODST's. He's here to lead you all in some heavy weapons training and battle situation tactics for the obstacle course. I'll leave you three to get acquainted while I call for the other Spec Ops to gather. You're training has been pushed up from tomorrow to this evening, because of your high rate of recovery." The trio sharply saluted the Lieutenant as the doctor walked from the room.

She went to each of the recovery wards and saw the same sight in each room. The survivors were talking, doing loose activities as they readjusted to their new bodies. From here on out, she knew that things were only going to get harder.

After notifying all of the Black Op survivors to gather in Kim's room, the doctor went to her office and left the military work to the soldiers. She turned on her desk computer and began recording a transmission to be sent to Earth.

"Day 1 was successful and they have fully recovered from their surgeries within 2 days. Of the 25 application subjects only 5 were failures. Training will begin tomorrow. Also, I must warn you once again. There is a reason why muscle enhancements are banned. It is because the withdrawal rate is severely high, and these subjects could go into complete muscle failure within a month. Colonel Ackerson I wish you would reconsider the option of prolonged muscle treatment. If you check the new data I am sending you, you will see that the option of surgical enhancement without prolonged treatment is a futile effort. If applied slowly, there is a higher success rate. I understand the war will not wait, but consider that these men and women could turn the scale of this war, not as opposition to the Spartans, but as the Spartans aids."

The doctor paused for a moment and drank some water. She rested the cup back on her desk and focused on continuing her update.

"I see no future for your S-III project if you choose to ignore the results I have uncovered. The DNA comparisons of the Spartans that successfully passed the Spartan II program cannot be quickly replicated or cloned into living hosts. However, if we take our time and study these subjects and treat them over an extended period of time then, and only then, will we have a chance to create what I proposed to you six months ago. Using what I have learned from Halsey's Spartans I believe it is possible to clone the organic tissue of the Spartans and implement them within living hosts. But this will take months of post treatment. The recovery time for the 20 application subjects has been remarkable, but like any muscle enhancement procedure they will fail unless we take our time with them. These muscle enhancements are the cloned muscle tissue of Spartans that share the same blood type of our subjects. The 25 test subjects gave us great results, better then we expected results, but the results also confirmed that the muscle enhancements are fatal if applied too quickly. The cloned tissue will be received better if we give them more time to adjust."

"In conclusion, Colonel. You want these application subjects to be ready in 3 days. I am telling you they need 3 weeks of post treatment and then 4 weeks of adjustment. 7 weeks Colonel, or all of your research will be for nothing."

"Doctor Carolyn Smith  
Head of S-III Research Team 4  
UNSC Medical Facility  
Troy"

The doctor slammed her hand on the computer and ended the recording. She then pressed several keystrokes on the computer and the message was transmitted to Earth via a secure channel. She leaned forward and rested her head in her hands. She hated the Colonel, and she hated that she agreed to work on his program. She wasn't making Spartans, she was slowly torturing humans. Ackerson wanted her to find a faster way to create super soldiers, because the only draw back to the Spartan II program was the incredible length of time to produce them. Doctor Carolyn Smith was sure that her theory would work, but not in 3 days. Comparatively speaking, it took nearly eight years for the Spartans to actively begin their missions, but her research could take ordinary soldiers and have them battle ready within two months.

Carolyn knew that she was basically stealing doctor Halsey's research, but her applications could change the scope of the war. The problem was with Colonel Ackerson. Ackerson was being pushed to bring forth results or his budget would be cut, and redirected to Master Chief Petty Officer Mendez's training facility, where more Spartans were being trained. These second generation of Spartan II were ready for enhancement surgery and Colonel Ackerson was felling the pressure.

Carolyn stood from her desk and tied her hair back. She wasn't going to let the Colonel jeopardize her research because of his impatience. She paced around the room, knowing that the Colonel would receive the transmission and respond quickly. It would take only two hours for the transmission to arrive on Earth, and then two hours for him to reply. She paced, but hunger quickly consumed her. Four hours was plenty of time to eat. She gathered her chatter and walked out of the office.

The research ward of the lunchroom was empty, and Carolyn figured that there was little chance of having fresh food. The only available courses were lunchtime leftovers, which were being heated under hot lamps. The option to go to the food replication system was quickly becoming her best option for something fresh, but the idea of eating genetically enhanced paste that was shaped in the style of meatloaf quickly turned her stomach. She walked to the counter and stared at the leftovers.

"Hey, cook." Carolyn shouted. "You mind tossing this beef back on the grill for me?" The cook tossed aside his newspaper and smiled at the woman standing in front of him.

"Haven't seen you in here for a while, doc." He stated smoothly. "Are they keeping you busy downstairs?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Carolyn replied. The cook chuckled as he took the side of beef from under the hot lamp and slapped it onto the griddle. The hunk of meat wasn't fresh, but at least it would be hot. Carolyn heard a commotion in the hallway and turned to see what was happening. Suddenly a group of men and women dressed in black fatigues burst into the lunchroom. She counted 21 of them and quickly recognized each one.

"Alright boys and girls, get some grub." Kim stated to her squad. Beside her stood the ageing ODST, Lieutenant Samson. "Thirty minutes to eat and then it's back to the obstacle course."

"Doctor." Lieutenant Samson stated as he walked into line behind Carolyn. "I must say they are quite impressive. We just did a short warm up hike and some sprints in the obstacle course; all on empty stomachs. They performed better then any group of soldiers I've ever seen."

"I said they would begin tomorrow, Lieutenant." Carolyn sternly barked. "They need time to fully assimilate the new muscle fibbers."

"My orders come directly from the Colonel, doctor." Lieutenant Samson stated. "You'll have to take it up with him. My duty is to make sure the second phase goes off without a hitch." The lieutenant then turned his attention to the cook.

"Grill up some meat, I've got a starving squad coming in." Samson shouted.

"Let me get the other cooks, they're on break, and we'll fix you boys up." The cook stated as he passed Carolyn her warmed up beef. "If you want to wait, I can get you something better."

"No thanks, I'm just a civilian." Carolyn stated as she walked off. The military cooks rarely prepared fresh food for the medical staff, but if soldiers came in their duty was to serve them hot food at any time. The cook quickly called for two more cooks to assist him and within two minutes the grills were steaming with hot food.

Carolyn sat down and watched as Kim 04, Melanie 05 and Eric 19 sat next to each other and patiently waited for the food to be prepared. They let the other members of the squad get their food first before motioning toward the line. Carolyn couldn't help but feel sad for them. They were all eager to fight and help win the war, not knowing that they were only guinea pigs in a much larger plan. Carolyn knew that without treatment they had less then thirty days to live.

She gripped the knife in her hand and sliced a hunk of beef. With the fork in her hand she motioned to pick up the meat but paused in the midst of the act. She turned and watched as Betty sat next her, smiling happily.

"You must be proud." Betty happily stated. "These soldiers will help end this war. I can't wait to hear about their actions in the future. It'll be just like the Spartans, except I get to tell all my friends that I helped to make them. This is a proud day for…" Betty paused as she watched a tear roll down Carolyn's eye. Carolyn was blankly staring at her food and crying at the noble words of her chief technician. Betty was the head nurse at the hospital, but she was not allowed to know the full details of what these soldiers would endure.

"Your right, I am proud." Carolyn stated with a bright smile. "And I'm not going to let anymore of them die." She pushed away from the table and walked over to Kim, Melanie and Eric. The group of friends was isolated from the rest of the group.

"04, I need to speak with you." Carolyn stated.

"Sorry ma'am, it'll have to wait till later." Kim replied. "Food, then training. I'll be done obstacle course drills around 20:00 hours. We can talk then."

Carolyn clinched her fist and sternly stated, "If you don't order your squad back to bed, you will all be dead in 30 days." Kim, Melanie and Eric froze and blankly stared at Carolyn, waiting for an explanation.

"You were never expected to live beyond the initial tests." Carolyn explained. "If you live then maybe you'll be allowed to see combat, but they aren't expecting it. You are all test subjects, merely guinea pigs. You were the application's group and we applied what we learned from the other 25 subjects to you, to see how you would react to the muscle enhancements. Without prolonged treatment you will all die…" Carolyn froze as Lieutenant Samson pressed his side arm sternly to the back of her head. A crisp click could be heard as he primed the chamber.

"Step outside, Doctor." Samson stated softly. His voice was calm and crisp, showing no emotion or hesitation.

"Sir, is that really necessary." Kim stated to the ODST Lieutenant.

"04, you and your squad will ignore everything this woman has said." Samson replied. "She has violated her privileges in this manor."

"Your show of force, sir, is clear indication that she is telling us the truth." Eric stated. "We came here to better our chances to fight the covenant, not throw our lives away."

"What she has said is of no concern." Samson stated. "Doctor, into the hallway now! I will notify the MPs to escort you out of this facility. Your work is done."

"She's right." Betty interrupted. "The wristbands, I didn't know what they meant at first, but now I understand. All of the soldiers with red wristbands are dead. She's telling the truth…" A crack of the lieutenant's pistol sounded and Betty tumbled face first to the floor. The exit wound in her back a clear sign of her death.

"Betty!" Carolyn screamed.

"The soldiers are considered Black Ops." Samson stated. "Knowledge of their existence and their duty is specific only to top brass and a small crew within the facility. Doctor, you and your nurse have been sharing secret information after you were explicitly told to share on a 'need to know' basis only. 19 get an MP in here immediately."

Kim raced over to Betty's still body and checked her pulse.

"She's dead." Kim stated. "She was a civilian lieutenant; you didn't have to kill her."

"04 hold your tongue." Samson shouted as his composure became more chaotic. "19 call for an MP, now!"

"Yes sir." Eric snapped. "But only if you tell me that the doctor is lying."

"Until you are fully trustworthy 19, I am not at liberty to disclose the information of this project." By now, all of the Black Op squad was paying close attention to the details.

"He killed Betty!" Carolyn screamed. Her eyes were boiling with tears of terror, knowing that at any moment she would be next to die. "Who in their right mind would shoot someone for talking…" Eric exploded across the table that blocked his path and in one swift movement he had pushed the doctor clear of Samson's weapon. His speed was unreal and caught Samson completely off guard. Eric arched the lieutenant's gun into the air and held him at bay.

Carolyn stood to her feet and was assisted by one of the other Black Ops saying, "Thank you 14." She wasn't sure what else to say as everyone turned their eyes to her. The room fell eerily quiet as Eric held the lieutenant and Betty's body lye motionless on the floor.

Kim stood up, knowing that she had to establish order.

"19 secure the prisoner." Kim stated to Eric. "06, 07, 08, and 09 I want you to secure a path back to the lab. Everyone believes that we are going to be training all afternoon, so let's let them think that. 05 I want you to lead the rest of the squad down to the obstacle course after you eat, and then get back to the lab for debriefing. Don't push yourselves down there; if you feel weak or have any form of strange feelings get back to the lab. Will this be acceptable doctor?" All eyes turned to Carolyn as she agreed.

"Physically, you will be fine for a few weeks." Carolyn added. "But your enhancements will soon begin to degrade without additional treatments."

"Good." Kim added. "19 watch the lieutenant and bring him to the lab with us. 14 guard the doctor and make sure she's not seen on the way to the lab. Move out everyone."

"Yes sir." The Black Ops stated in unison. Melanie 05 and the majority of the Black Ops ate their food, as ordered, and then gathered at the obstacle course a few miles away from medical facility. As expected, several members of the brass watched from the distance, using binoculars when needed. They only observed, never speaking to anyone other then the other ONI officials at their sides.

After several minutes of cautiously sneaking back to the lab, the situation had begun to become more heated.

"I say we gut this piece of ODST trash, hang his entrails on the obstacle course and leave the planet for good." One of the Black Ops stated.

"It's a good plan." Eric added. "But then we won't be able to get the treatments we need."

"Doctor, how much time do we need for additional treatments?" Kim questioned.

"At least 3 weeks of constant treatments." Carolyn added as she leaned against a table. "You'd all have to in bed for the duration of the procedure."

"They'll notice if we aren't training daily." Kim replied.

"What if we did some treatments at short intervals?" Eric questioned.

"The problem with that, 19, is that your body will reject all the treatments once you go into action." Carolyn replied. "It would be like tearing a muscle and then being active on that muscle before it has completely healed; you'd only be making it worse. Sorry, the only option is to completely stop using your muscles for 3 weeks while being treated. The info we gathered shows that reaching muscle atrophy is required, and then the body must replenish the muscle with your own cells. This will guarantee that the muscles will not fail in the future."

Carolyn exhaled and began to explain, "Muscle enhancements are not designed for long term use, only for a few days and then you return to normal. Our method involved replacing your primary muscle structure at the base with cloned tissue. It's much more advanced and also tricky. You feel fine now, but soon the muscle tissue will loose stability, leading to …"

"Thanks doc, but spare us the details." Black Op 14 stated. "Just tell us how to make it work."

"What if there is a setback?" Kim chimed in.

"How so 04?" Carolyn questioned.

"What if we all suddenly began to fail?" Kim continued. "We can fool them into thinking that we need further time to develop and you can add that data to your findings."

"A good plan, however there is a down side." Carolyn stated. She folded her arms and stared at the floor. "The problem is that they are expecting you to fail. The second phase is simply to show the brass that it is possible to have superior soldiers within 3 days, and be equal in strength and speed to the Spartans. If you suddenly began to fail, they wouldn't care. They would only want documentation of all of your deaths, and then they would begin the autopsy phase of the research."

"This really sucks." Black Op 14 snarled.

"What if we're a success?" Eric stated. "What if we don't fail? Would they kill us?"

"No." Carolyn stated. "You would be posted here on Troy, permanently. You would be working directly under ONI Section III."

"So what if we divided the squad up." Kim added, stepping to the center of the discussion group. "What if ten of us started the procedure, and then the others continued training. Once those ten completed the treatments then the last ten begin. Can we pull that off?"

"Tricky." Carolyn stated. "But achievable. I could forge some documents, spin some tails, and tell a few lies. But I do believe it would work. I know my staff here and they're trustworthy. The brass has yet to come down to the lab, so keeping you all hidden down here will be simple."

"Good." Kim added. "It feels good to know that the medical team wants us to live. But now we have another problem." Everyone turned and looked at Lieutenant Samson sitting in the corner; gagged and tied to the chair. His armor and boots had been removed as well as his dog-tags.

"I say we gut him, and hang his entrails on the obstacle course." 14 laughed. The rest of the squad also laughed, trying to find some humor in their life threatening situation.

"The good thing is that we don't need him." Carolyn stated. "His duty was to report to me. Even though his orders came from Colonel Ackerson, he doesn't report to him. If he vanishes no one would know."

Eric walked across the room and tripped the safety on the pistol he had taken from the lieutenant. He pointed the gun at the man's head and paused. Samson tried to pull away, struggling at the restraints that held him in place. His muffled plea for help went unheard and his begging fell on deaf ears.

"Lieutenant, you killed a civilian and assisted in committing crimes against humanity." Eric stated coldly. "12 women and 13 men died for the purpose of research, and each of them were told that they could have the chance to fight against humanities greatest threat. You assisted in the cover up, the lies, and the betrayal against your fellow man. I'm only going to give you one option; work with us." Eric took the gag from Samson's mouth and waited for him to speak. Samson coughed on his own saliva as he struggled to form words.

"I'm sorry, I'll do whatever you want." Samson begged. "Please don't kill me. Not like this."

Eric leaned closer to Samson's ear and whispered, "Not good enough." Eric stood up straight as Samson's eyes widened in horror. Samson screamed for help, but Eric ignored the lieutenant's high pitched shrieks. He placed the gun close to Samson's chest and the M6 pistol recoiled in his hand. The bullet chattered Samson's ribcage and tore through his heart. The exit wound dragged fragments of flesh and blood with it as it carried into the metal wall of the lab.

Samson gasped as the pain coursed through his body. Knowing that he would only live for a few moments longer, he gazed at Eric in disbelief. Eric stared back and showed no sign of remorse.

"I'll take the body to the morgue." Eric stated. He tossed the gun to Kim and as soon as she caught it she swiftly turned on the safety and placed the gun on the table.

"Why did he kill him?" Carolyn asked. "I didn't think he would actually kill him."

Kim looked at Carolyn with a confused gaze and said, "We are dealing with people that would sacrifice fifty human lives in order to test their super soldier plan. Most of us volunteered so that we could become better fighters not test subjects. If we let him live it would only be a matter of time before ONI found out. Not to mention what he did to Betty."

"I understand." Carolyn remorsefully stated. "He did kill Betty, but that doesn't make us any better."

"We're fighting a war, doctor." Kim quickly added. "It's kill or be killed."

Carolyn sighed and looked at the time; fiver hours had passed.

"I have to go report to Ackerson." She calmly stated. "I suggest you chose which group is going to go first." Carolyn exited the lab and made the short trek to her office. As she expected, there was a new message on her transmitter.

"_I commend you, Doctor, on a job well done. The data you've sent me will go greatly toward the future of the S-III project. These results are far more then we expected from you. Once again, good job._

"_Now, I will ignore your little warning about the success of my program. Seven weeks is unacceptable. Together we will find a way to eliminate the muscle failure within at least a week, not seven. If necessary we will modify the S-III battle armor to sustain the soldiers permanently, but that is not your concern. For now, focus on acquiring as much data from the Black Ops as you can before they expire. When they're dead, send ten of their corpses to Earth, my team here will study them as well. The other ten are for you to study and then dispose of. We have already listed the test subjects as KIA on one of the more recently glassed worlds. Those covenant bastards are pressing closer by the month._

"_Once the last of them is dead, tell Lieutenant Samson to return to his original assignment and then report to me. Also, notify me of any sudden changes within the Black Ops. And if some of them live, I will have uses for them on Troy. _

"_One more thing, Doctor. Kim Peters, the selected squad leader for the Black Ops, is quite an extraordinary candidate. Her collegiate credentials would have earned her a place in any UNSC Academy. She was an excellent choice for squad leader. Be sure that when she dies her body is kept well preserved and sent back to Earth. I'll be eagerly awaiting your next transmission._

"_Colonel James Ackerson  
__Head of S-III Project  
__UNSC HighCom  
__Earth"_

Carolyn sat back in her chair and massaged her temples. She was in quite the mess, but the good thing was that she didn't have to rush a transmission back to Ackerson. She could take her time and think of a good reason for how the Black Ops survived. She stood up, walked out of her office and returned to the lab.

Carolyn and Black squad set their plan into motion. The first ten Black Ops went into the lab for the three week treatment, leaving Eric 19 in charge while Kim 04 rested. For three weeks Eric took the group of ten soldiers through the daily regimen, while under the watchful eyes of the Section III brass. The ploy paid off and no questions were asked when ten new Black Ops appeared after the six weeks. However the brass quickly began to question the sudden change in numbers after six weeks had passed.

"We have a problem." Carolyn stated. "All of you show no signs of deterioration but the Section III brass are curious as to why there was such a sudden drop in performance."

"Tell them we're tired." Kim laughed.

"That would be truthful." Carolyn stated. "Now that you all have been treated you aren't back to full strength. This is also puzzling me, there should have only been a two day slump in your performance, but none of you seem to be returning to your full potential. It has made for a good source of documentation, but I was hoping you would have regained your strength fully. Anyway, since you've all lived far beyond your expected termination date, the ONI brass want to know if you are all fit to return to duty, or if they should write you off. Even though you are not as strong as you once were, I told them that you are all ready for combat."

"Finally!" Eric shouted. All twenty of the Black Ops applauded in excitement, they would finally be returning to the war.

* * *

July 28, 2552  
Final Assault of Troy 

"I repeat. This is the Apocalypso contacting any and all UNSC forces on Troy. Please respond immediately."

"Captain Greene." The communications officer interrupted. "Planet side transmissions have been jammed. It was as if they knew we were planning to evacuate. Ninety percent of all escape ships have reported in but four ships are unaccounted for. Your orders?"

Captain Greene gazed at the monitor as dozens of Covenant ships exited slip space in high orbit around Troy.

"We have a mission to complete." Captain Greene stated sternly. "We'll have to consider those ships as sunk. Notify all remaining ships to execute the Cole Protocol. Troy has been overrun and we successfully evacuated the vast majority of civilians and troops. Secure the artifact until we arrive at Earth. Melissa, set random slip space jump pattern and get us out of here."

"Aye-aye captain." Melissa, the Apocolypso's AI stated. "Random course plotted, and engines ready."

"Helm, get us out of here." Greene stated. "I pray we haven't left anyone behind."

Plasma fire streamed in all directions within the settlement as millions of planet side civilians screamed and ran to the Pelicans that lined the city. The evacuation of Troy had been ordered and only one last city remained, but the covenant attack came earlier then planned. Covenant drop ships hissed overhead as their ground troops were lowered to the ground. The U shaped drop ships opened their hatches and several squads hopped to the ground.

"Fire!" Kim shouted from the cover of a nearby building. Four RPG's hissed through the air and struck the side of the two drop ships, killing most of its passengers just as they were exiting. The plume of smoldering metal gave the Black Ops squad substantial cover to advance on the remaining covenant forces.

"19 take the second fire team and flank them to the right." Kim shouted over the roar of flame and gun fire. "Fire team one you're with me, we're going up the middle to lay a diversion."

The Black Ops split up perfectly even as Kim led her eight team members directly into the covenant line. Plasma fire crisscrossed as they advanced. Kim held her hand up and spread her fingers wide. She then pointed to the left and right. Her team spread out and took down several straggling jackals and grunts, but then the elites charged.

"05!" Kim shouted to her sister. Melanie found her targets and tossed a few grenades. The detonation engulfed the unsuspecting elites and they died in a furry of dust and ash. "Secure those plasma rifles. They work better on the elite's shields." Several of the team members picked up the weapons a strapped them to their backs.

On the opposite side of the elite formation, Eric and the second team cautiously moved in behind the unsuspecting group of elites, jackals and grunts. Eric held up his fist and all eight troops took cover. He looked the field over and saw that the elites were clearly focused on Kim's head on attack. Eric placed two fingers together and pointed to his eyes. He then pointed to the four elites that watched over the battle field, and then he pointed out the three red armored elites that prowled the edge of the smoldering drop ships. The elites were preparing their troops to advance on Kim and her team, but Eric had a better plan in mind.

Following Eric's hand gestures, two snipers stepped up and took aim on the first four elites. Both of their guns only cracked twice and the four elites dropped to the ground motionless. The grunts that had witnessed their leaders crumble to the ground, began to panic and shoot in all directions, looking for where the shots came from. The snipers adjusted and locked onto the four red elites, and in unison they also fell lifeless to the ground.

Eric held up his fist and opened his palm. He then waved forward and all eight of his team members charged in and mopped up the grunts and jackals with little trouble. Kim and her team cautiously walked around the debris of the drop ships

"19 report." Kim stated as she walked closer to Eric.

"All targets neutralized." Eric stated. "I spotted a few of our marines escorting more civilians back toward our ship. They were in the clear, but I don't know for how long."

"I still can't get a transmission through." Kim added. "They're jamming the entire network. Alright, we've done all we can. We'll pick up as many civilians and troops as we can, but we're heading back to the ship. Troy is lost. We didn't get back to the planet in time to help otherwise they never would have caught us off guard like this."

Kim then turned to Melanie and stated, "05 take 09 and 12, and recon the area. Find us the safest and fastest way back to the ship."

"Sir." Melanie sharply stated. "Let's move boys."

"19 you and 14 take point." Kim stated, as she glared at Eric. "19 you're in temporary command until I can crack through this damned covie jamming signal." Melanie over heard Kim's orders just as she and the other two Black Ops disappeared from view.

"Right." Eric stated as he turned to the rest of the Black Ops. "The chief's going to crack this Covenant jamming signal, so until then I'm squad leader. 03 and 02 assist 04. 14 you're with me, everyone else fall in line. Double time it people or you'll be dodging plasma rain." The Black Ops moved clear of the debris and headed back toward the ship. After a few moments of silence, Melanie chimed in on Eric's short wave head set.

"19 I've got civilians and marines huddled together about one hundred yards from your position." Melanie stated over the com. "Those idiots are in the open and most likely waiting for a transport to come back. Two pelicans just left, and from what I can tell they called for more ships to come in."

"Shit, they're sitting ducks." Eric cursed. "Rough count?"

"A thousand civilians and maybe a hundred marines." Kim replied. "If the covies are monitoring pelican activity…"

"Yeah, I know." Eric sighed. "They'll know to come here. I'll have to risk a wide band signal. Keep your eyes sharp 05."

"Roger that." Kim replied before a static burst signaled she had terminated her link.

"This is Black Op 19 to any UNSC marines in the area. Do you copy?" Eric stated into the wide band signal, hoping to get a reply.

"Copy you sir." A marine stated back. "I'm locking in on your frequency."

"Copy." Eric stated back. "Pull those civilians out of that clearing! You're all sitting ducks out there."

"I know sarge." The marine stated. "They're too scared to turn back. They won't leave because they think they'll be left behind."

"Damn it marine, I don't care if you have to hit somebody, get them to out of that clearing." Eric snapped.

"They won't listen sir, we've been trying." The marine nervously replied.

A sudden burst of static cut into Eric's communication saying, "Covenant drop ships inbound. Distance five miles." Melanie stated.

"Did you hear that?" Eric questioned.

"Yes sir, but I don't know what to do!" The marine was clearly young and Eric knew there was only one option.

"How much time, 05?" Eric questioned.

"Two minutes, maybe more." Melanie replied.

"Hold you're position till I call for you, 05." Eric stated. "Move in everyone. We've got Covenant drop ships inbound and a thousand civilians to get clear." The Black Ops all sprinted through the rubble of the nearby building and dashed the hundred yards in less then eight seconds. Their speed aided by the treatments they had received so many years ago. After entering the clearing Eric ran to the front of the massive swarm of civilians and stood atop a warthog.

"Covenant troops are inbound!" Eric shouted to the crowd. "Go back to the edge of town or you will all die!"

Another burst of static caught Eric's ear as Melanie cut in saying, "Eric, it's an ambush!" In the distance Eric could here gunfire coming from Melanie's position and a stray plasma bolt flared into the sky. Suddenly plasma fire erupted from the edge of the city and toward the mass of civilians.

"Melanie, get down here!" Eric shouted into his com. The drop ships had already unloaded their crew and they had snuck in unnoticed. "Everyone, form a defensive around the civilians. Fire at will!" Marines all ran to the edge of the city and began firing blindly, not sure where the Covenant were attacking from.

"I got it!" Kim shouted from the center of the formation. She was happy that she had cracked the covenant jamming frequency and could radio the ship for aid. She took cover behind a small wall as plasma fire flowed around her. "Rogue Fantasy this is Black Op 04. Do you copy Rogue Fantasy?"

"Good to here your voice, 04." A voice stated on the other end of the com. "What's your location? I can have a pelican to you shortly."

"We're pinned down at West Market place, Captain." Kim replied. "I have civilians falling by the dozen. I'm requesting heavy fire and EVAC of at least one thousand civilians and marines. Copy?"

"Reinforcements are on the way." The captain replied back. "Send up a red marker on the Covenant position for the pelicans to lock on before picking you up.

Kim turned and looked into the wave of fire pressing into the crowd of civilians and marines. Casualties were numerous and then she saw Melanie sprinting from the building that the Covenant forces were firing from. Behind her was 09 and 12. They were running and shooting behind them as best they could. Suddenly 12 was sliced in half by an invisible force. The blood spray covered the camouflaged elite and his plasma sword as two other elites appeared at its side. The three of them quickly began to chase down Kim and 09.

"Melanie!" Kim shouted as she fled her position. She took aim with her assault gun and began firing controlled bursts at the three elites' heads. 09 turned and also began taking shots at the cloaked warriors. The active camouflage systems gave out and they appeared. One of the elites swung his blade at 09 head, but the Black Op dodged it. He then emptied his clip into the elites back, killing it. However he was unable to get clear of the other elite. The warrior stabbed 09 in the back and ripped his blade out of his torso.

"Harry!" Kim shouted as she watched 09 fall. She had to keep moving and dropped a grenade as she came closer to Melanie. The last elite stepped close to the frag-grenade just as it detonated. The blast blew him backwards and it tumbled lifelessly to a stop.

"You okay?" Kim questioned. Melanie was holding her side and blood flowed freely from the wound.

"Nothing a little biofoam won't cure." Melanie replied. Kim jabbed the nozzle into the wound and the foamy mass quickly fizzed into Melanie's wound. Melanie squirmed from the pain and fought against blacking out. "Oh that was heavenly. How about I not go through that again?" Melanie laughed to herself. Kim removed the bottle and tossed it to the side. She pulled a red flare from her hip pack and tossed several of them toward the buildings. The flares puffed bright red smoke into the air as plasma streamed through.

Eric slid in beside the group and stopped beside Kim.

"The civilians are mostly safe behind some barricades, but I'm not sure for how long." Eric stated. "It's tight in here. We have no room to maneuver or get clear of any mortar blasts. And I don't want to mention grenades."

"Noted, 19." Kim stated. "I got through to the Rogue Fantasy and heavy artillery is on the way."

"Great, I hoped that was what those flares were for." Melanie replied. "Look, I see the pelicans!" Forty pelicans dotted the sky and were streaking in toward the encamped group of Covenant forces. "That is one hell of a beautiful sight."

Without warning, Kim pushed Eric to the ground as a plasma grenade dropped at his feet. Kim looked around, torn about her actions. If the lone grenade exploded, they would all be killed including twenty or more of the civilians. It was too crowded in the small area and there was no way to get everyone clear. In an instant she lunged at the plasma grenade and felt the warm heat radiating from it quickly fuse to her hand. The pain began to intensify as she began to sprint away from the group.

"Kim!" Eric shouted. He leapt from the ground and chased her. Kim raised her arm away from her body as far as she could as the grenade began to release its final surge of energy.

Eric could only watch as the grenade exploded, sending Kim's body sliding across the ground. Kim struggled to get to her feat as shock swelled around her body. Eric grabbed her by the shoulder as a hail of plasma blasts roared toward him. He tossed Kim onto his shoulder and ran back to cover. He tumbled to the ground and quickly began to seal the wound were Kim's arm and hip once were. The damage was severe and Eric knew that he couldn't save her.

Melanie crawled beside them as the final volley of plasma tore into their encampment. The pelicans began to release wave after wave of hellfire into the Covenant lines. The majority of pelicans began to land and what was left of the civilians eagerly crawled onboard.

"I can't… I can't… Eric." Kim tearfully shouted. Eric fought to keep her calm and tend to her wounds. "Pull the squad out, get them out… out."

"Shut up, Kim!" Melanie shouted. "You're coming with us."

"Eric, Eric…" Kim stuttered as she gazed into the sky. She slowly exhaled, her mouth opened and her eyes wide. Eric closed her eyes and softly mourned her death.

"Sir we have to go!" 08 stated. "Rogue Fantasy says they can't wait any longer. Those Covenant bastards are preparing to glass the planet. We have to go." Melanie was in shock and sat quietly on the ground, gazing into the lifeless face of her sister. Eric grabbed Kim's body and slung it over his shoulder. With his free hand he grabbed Melanie and pulled her toward the Pelicans; 08 followed closely.

They climbed onto the back of the pelican just as Plasma barrages began to fall in the distance. The covenant had begun to glass Troy.

"How many did we leave behind?" Eric asked 08.

"We lost contact with the front marines." He replied. "We were only able to fill twenty pelicans with civilians. We had to leave the others behind." Of the eighteen Black Ops that begin the battle on Troy, only six survived. The flight back to the Rogue Fantasy was quiet until the pelican docked. The rear hatch opened and the last survivors of Troy exited from its belly. Standing before the Black Ops was Doctor Carolyn Smith; whom had become the ship nurse and chief medic in order to stay with her Black Ops, fearing for her life and career if she went anywhere without them.

"Take 04 to the morgue and put her in hibernation." Carolyn stated to the nurses at her side. "And make sure to take a look at all of them, they all seem to be wounded. It seems this was by far the hardest mission yet." Carolyn focused on Melanie and spotted a tear in her eye. "Are you okay, 05?"

"No." Melanie stated as she slumped onto the side of the pelican. She suddenly balled over and began to sob peacefully to herself as Eric attempted to comfort her.

Eric looked at Carolyn and waved her off. Carolyn shook her head, understanding that she needed her space. He then sat beside her and held her close. No matter how hard they had fought in the past few years, this was the worst battle yet. They had usually worked alone and in secret, doing side missions for Section III, but when word of Troy being attacked crossed their speakers they had to go help.

There was no stopping the Covenant. Humanity had to become stronger, and not even his adjusted strength was good enough. The Covenant was to powerful, too numerous, and too advanced to be stopped. Soon they would sack Earth and nothing would remain of humanity.

"Rose." Eric stated. Melanie had heard him, but ignored it. At that moment Eric decided that this war would only be won if their technology improved, and he didn't want to see any one else he loves die. He was standing only ten feet away when Kim died and the more he thought of Rose, the more he wanted to redeem himself for failing Kim. Melanie would stay with him, he would convince them all to go back to Earth. If they followed him to war then they would surely follow him home.

_**To be continued…**_


	12. Intruder Alert!

**Stage 12: Intruder Alert!**

July 28, 2552  
Final Assault of Troy

"Captain, all pelicans have docked and the Cole Protocol has been initiated." Ares stated from his glowing holotank. He floated softly above the small pedestal, with a deep red glow and black body armor reminiscent of a Greek warrior. Ares was not a smart AI, but simply aided in aiming the MAC cannon and slip space flight. The crew of the Rogue Fantasy would have had it no other way.

"Good." Captain Monroe stated. She leaned forward in her captain's chair and looked to the rear screen. "And not a moment to soon." On the screen she saw four Covenant cruisers quickly pursuing her tiny cruiser away from Troy's orbit.

"Captain, lock down complete." A command crew member stated with a nervous pitch. "We can enter slip space at any time."

"Make the jump!" Captain Monroe stated without hesitation. "Monitor those Covenant ships that are sniffing at our tails."

"Aye-aye." The navigator stated in return. The sleek engines of the Rogue Fantasy flashed to life and quickly accelerated the ship forward. A flash of blue and red formed at the forward hull as the ships slip space engines tore a whole in sub-space. The twist ripped open a pathway into an alternate dimension and allowed the Rogue Fantasy to force itself into slip space.

The four Covenant cruisers watched as the Rogue Fantasy vanished from before their eyes, but this did not deter their aggression. The Covenant smoothly crossed plains in less the amount of time that it took for the Rogue Fantasy to perform the same maneuver. The Covenant's understanding of slip space travel was much more advanced and they managed to predict the course of the Rogue Fantasy.

"Captain four slip space tears dead ahead!" The helmsman stated. "Those bastards jumped ahead of us!"

"ETA till slip space exit?" The captain questioned sharply, with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Two minutes, captain!" The navigator replied. The Rogue Fantasy was not a battle cruiser, and taking on four Covenant Capital cruisers was suicide. The mission of the Rogue Fantasy was to spy on Covenant activity after they had glassed a world. In some cases the Covenant landed before the entire surface was blasted, and they began excavations of various ruins across colony worlds. The Rogue Fantasy and its marine, ODST, and Black Ops crew secretly observed these behaviors and documented their findings. Occasionally they were intercepted by ground forces, but the Black Ops held them at bay. This was the first space battle for the tiny ship, and its inexperienced captain.

"Shit!" One of the command crew shouted as he gazed into his scanner. "Multiple Covenant drop ships detected beyond slip space threshold! Those bastards are waiting for us!" Captain Monroe felt a cold lump slam into the back of her throat, and her mind went blank as she gazed at her display. She was afraid of this, she wasn't ready to face space battle, yet one was about to begin, but now she had to repel boarders as well. She reached out to the helmsman and navigator which were sitting only a few feet from her captain's chairs.

She placed her hands on their shoulders and whispered, "Options?"

"Captain?" The helmsman questioned as he tried to deal with the reality of what was happening. His captain was loosing control.

The navigator quickly snapped them both to attention, "Sound general quarters, prepare to repel boarders, load the MAC gun and fire on the lead ship, and then… pray, Captain!"

"All hands, battle stations." Captain Monroe stated into the ship wide com. Her voice was hesitant, but her duty was clear. If she were to die, she would at least die fighting. "I repeat all hands to battle stations. Prepare to repel boarders." She depressed the ship wide com and directed her attention back to the navigator. "Why board us? We're too small of a ship to be a threat or to carry any important personnel. So why risk a boarding party?"

"You're asking me?" The navigator laughed. "The Covenant has some of the worst battle tactics I've ever seen, but they're still winning this war. We're exiting slip space in ten seconds."

"Right." Monroe sat back in her chair and breathed deeply, attempting to calm her rattled nerves. She pressed a channel on her com counsel and stated, "Black Op 04, I want your squad guarding the command deck."

A stiff voice replied on the channel, "04 is dead, Captain. This is 19 and I'm in command of the Black Ops." Captain Monroe sunk in her chair even further, her mind quickly raced as she pondered how many times Kim had saved her life and the life of her crew over the past ten years. She was a brilliant strategist and sharp shooter, and she could crack any covenant transmission or encrypted message without the aid of Smart AI.

"Normal space reached!" The navigator stated. "My God, all four cruisers dead ahead and fifteen boarding crafts in bound."

"19, get your squad up here and defend this deck!" Monroe nervously shouted into the com. "Marines, defend decks two through six. Medical teams stand by to receive injured." She once again sat up and quickly placed a hand on her heart, attempting to regain her composure. "Ares, set the next jump destination and put a MAC round in that lead cruiser. Engineering, how long before we can jump again?"

"Twenty Minutes, sir!" The engine monitor stated. "SFTE is recharging now, and I'm pumping as much power into as I can, but the MAC guns are sapping a lot of power. If we fire a MAC round we'll need an additional ten seconds before we can jump."

"That can't be helped." Monroe snapped. "Those ships will fire on us even while their boarding teams are hitting us."

"Multiple hull breaches along the port and aft of the ship; decks two and six."

"Marines, hull breaches detected on decks two and six, port and aft. Defend engineering and the main landing bay. Intruder alert! I repeat, intruder alert!"

* * *

"Melanie, I need you to pull yourself together." Eric stated as he pulled Melanie behind him. She staggered wildly as the Black Ops raced down the hall toward the main elevator. The remaining Black Ops were Roy 02, Melanie 05, Mathew 08, Sammy 13, Justin 14, and Eric 19. They were all that had survived the slaughter on Troy.

"I'm fine." Melanie sighed. She was clearly far from it.

Eric fumed and turned to Roy 02, "Notify the command deck Marines to prep for close quarters combat. I want deck one and two to be our primary hold point, along with engineering on deck six. I want the ODST's stationed there."

"Got it." Roy 02 replied as they all climbed into the elevator and headed to deck two.

The Rogue Fantasy was a small ship, caring a crew compliment of only four hundred able bodies. The addition of the Black Ops only increased its manifest to four hundred twenty. But now, with over two hundred civilians scattered about the ship, the Rogue Fantasy was bursting at the seams. The Rogue Fantasy was designed for stealth, meaning that no fighters were docked on the in the lone landing deck, only a few scorpions, dozens of warthogs, and forty pelicans. The pelican roster was the second largest in the fleet, but because of the Rogue Fantasy's unique missions, pelicans were an asset that the crew could not do without. Whenever a Pelican was disabled it was immediately replaced at the next refit. Luckily, the Rogue Fantasy had just re-supplied and refit at the colony world of Reach when the call from Troy was sent out. The small cruiser had four primary decks, one command deck and an engineering deck; a total of six. But unknown to the captain, Eric and Kim had already set plans to defend the ship years ago.

"Captain, this is 19." Eric stated in his communicator. Standing beside him, Roy 02 was barking orders to the ODST stationed around the ship. Ordering them to gather on deck six and defend engineering. The ODST were a hardcore group and followed the orders of the ONI Black Ops squad without question. They had served under the Black Ops for years, and never had their plans backfired. But this was also the first time a boarding team had breached their ship.

"Go ahead Eric." Monroe stated over the channel.

"Sir, stick to protocol." Eric snapped. "This is a live channel so use call signs only."

"Sorry 19." Monroe nervously replied. Eric could hear the tension in her voice and no matter how long she had been aboard the ship, she was still young and not use to direct combat. As luck would have it, her first officer and navigator were seasoned UNSC officers so Eric knew that she was still in good hands.

"Sir, Black Ops will defend deck two." Eric stated. "Deck one is a pit, they'll need to get past us to get there. We have begun our Lock Down maneuver."

"Lock Down?" Monroe replied.

"Our battle plan to secure the ship in case of borders. 04 and I put it together a few years ago. Permission to take command of all UNSC personnel?"

"Granted." Monroe replied. "The command crew and I will deal with getting us out of this mess."

"Roger that, 19 out." Eric tapped his helmet and adjusted his chest plate. The all black battle armor of the Black Ops was the first version of the ODST battle armor used throughout the UNSC for drop shock troopers, but with slight modifications for stealth. "Attention all Marines, this is Black Op 19. Repel boarders on decks two and six. Form fallback points at the primary elevator. If you're deck is overrun notify me ASAP. ODST, you have your orders." Eric killed the channel as his squad began to pass around ammo and adjust their gear. They arrived on the second deck and heard the roar of assault riffle fire at the end of the corridor. The fight had begun.

Fighting together for fifteen years had its advantages. The Black Ops said very few words when in the field. They relied heavily on hand signals and eye movements. They followed each other without regard for their backs, knowing that the rear man would always watch over them.

Eric gazed at Melanie 05 and sharply dipped his head backward, pointing to the rear of the six man formation. Melanie nodded no, and Eric began to fume. Melanie replied with a head tilt forward, signaling that she wanted point. Eric sighed, shook her off and slapped his head twice. He then repeated his earlier command to take the rear. Melanie understood. She lowered her head, and fell in line at the rear of the formation. Eric's sign for slapping his helmet meant that she was out of line, or a risk. In this situation it meant both.

Eric looked to Roy 02 and Sammy 13, they had the best eyes. He nodded sharply for them to take the point. Sammy peeped around the corner spotting marines defending a set of barricades at the end of the corridor. She turned, looked at Eric, and held up five fingers. She then made a fist and tapped the UNSC patch on the sleeve of her shoulder; five friendly forces under fire.

Eric quickly turned to Justin 14 and pointed to his eyes and waved him forward. He then looked to the group and nodded toward the hall. The Black Ops quickly lowered their posture and sprinted into the hall. They lined up against the hallway walls, two to the left and three to the right, while Justin 14 kept watch over the elevator.

The marines ahead of them were loosing ground as the Elites were pushing hard against the barricade. Plasma grenades detonated around them and one of the marines dropped with an agonizing scream. The Black Ops leveled their rifles to eyesight, and picked their targets. Each of them knew who to aim for because they had done this dozens of times. Their positions indicated who their target was. The point man aimed for the farthest target, and the rear man aimed for the closest. Everyone in between took the next corresponding target. The black ops outnumbered the elites in this instance, which meant that Melanie 05 would hold her fire and pickup anything that was missed.

They quickly pulled up behind the marines, and Roy 02 fired a controlled burst into the rear elite. Its shields sparked and the elite turned around, thinking the shots were coming from behind it. Roy then continued firing, all of his shells striking the back of the elite's head. The shield quickly faded, and two rounds parted the creature skull. The cry of agony startled the other four elites and they turned to see what had happened. As planned the elites were taken by surprise because the rear man had died. To them, they believed it was an attack from behind.

With their backs exposed, Eric and the Black Ops fired on their respected targets without much retaliation. The group quickly dropped to the ground, and the marines breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Thank God, sir." One of the marines stated. "We lost our CO during the first raid. We heard your order to fall back to the elevator and we got here as fast as we could. Those grunts were a piece of cake, but those elites pushed us hard. We were twenty men two minutes ago. Our whole squad is gone."

"Stay calm, private." Eric stated to calm the man. "You can cry when this is over."

"19, the shock troopers are having a hell of a time getting through deck five." Roy 02 stated as he monitored the com frequency.

"Take 14, and any marines you can find on the way, and secure that deck." Eric ordered. "Only engage the enemy if they are hindering your path, otherwise get through deck five quickly and lockdown deck six." Roy 02 nodded and sprinted down the hallway to Justin's position. The two men entered the elevator and began their trek to aid the ODST.

Melanie then chimed in, "19, the Doc wants to move the civilians to deck 2. She can't hide them anymore."

"Tell her we need ten minutes to clear deck 2 then we'll call her." Eric stated. "Tell the marines assigned to the civilians to hold down the elevator where they are for as long as they can." Eric quickly turned to the marine trembling at his feet. "How many ships docked on this deck?"

"Uhh,.. " The marine hesitated. "I counted four hull breaches before we pulled out."

Eric mentally did the math; "Four boarding ships, twelve per ship, so forty-eight on this deck." He quickly shouldered his assault rifle and switched to his M90 shotgun. "You four marines, fall back to the elevator. If anything ugly comes, kill it then insult its mother. Black Ops, move out." Eric and his squad sprinted down the corridor. Melanie also gripped a shotgun, fully loaded and ready to unload in the next creature that came too close. The group neared the main bulkhead, which separated the forward and aft section, and came to a stop.

Eric 19 and Sammy 13 paired together and crept along the starboard side of the hall. Sammy would provide distant coverage with her assault rifle while Eric 19 handled those that came to close. Mathew 08 and Melanie 05 did like wise on the port side. The hallway was crawling with covenant activity. Grunts patrolled the edge of the hallways while Elites huddled around computer terminals.

"What the hell are they doing?" Eric thought to himself, but there was no time to dabble. He primed a grenade and judged the distance to the nearest group of elites. Melanie saw Eric's eyes and followed suit. She dipped her shotgun and palmed two frag-grenades. She smiled with a joyful glee as she waited for Eric to toss his single grenade. Eric spotted the perfect candidates, three elites stood near a computer terminal as if they were reading something. He chucked the metal ball of death at the group, and Melanie waited to see where they would land. As the grenade soared she mentally judged where it would hit, how the elites would respond, how far the elites would jump and their possible landing areas. In a split second she calculated all the factors and tossed each grenade at her desired spots.

Eric's grenade landed at the elite's feet and instinctively they reacted. Each one jumped clear just as the grenade detonated, their shield flickered and were drained but held. But soon they found themselves falling toward grenades that had not yet exploded. One of the elites tried to alter his jump, but gravity was against him and he fell directly atop the grenade as it detonated. Fragments of his body scattered in all directions. The other two elites were somewhat lucky as the last grenade was off by a few feet. It exploded and sent the two of them sailing backwards. They impacted the far wall and the two creatures left massive dents in the bulkhead; stunned and dazed.

The grunts broke out into a frantic frenzy as they began shooting and running in all directions. The chaos was excellent cover for Melanie and Eric to do their magic. Eric pumped his shotgun and Melanie followed him in. They ran over the first four grunts in quick succession. The barrel of the M90's quickly heated from the rapid succession of shots. Melanie then took cover behind a wall and reloaded her gun, making sure that all twelve rounds would be ready for her next charge. Eric took cover in an alternate hallway, after verifying that it was clear of hostiles. There were more grunts running around, still clueless to what was happening and Eric knew that they needed to hurry. More elites would be coming.

Further down the hall, Melanie spotted the two dazed elites slowly staggering to get up. They would be deadly if they fully regained their composure. She looked to Eric 19, made a fist, slapped the fist to her chest plate, and fanned her hand toward the two elites. She wanted Eric to cover her as she charged them. Eric nodded her off after counting the number of grunts between her and the elites. There were fifteen grunts plus the two elites, meaning she wouldn't have time to reload. Enraged, Melanie 05 ignored Eric's denial and sprinted from cover. Eric quickly gave chase.

Melanie's enhanced speed and strength propelled her past two grunts before they could turn to see her. One of the odd looking creatures nearly raised its plasma pistol, but it caught the hard stock end of her M90. Purple blood exploded from the top of its head as Melanie delivered the blow. Melanie was now only a few feet from the elites, but surrounded by grunts. She kicked another of the small methane breathers and pushed on until her barrel was nearly two feet from the dazed elites face. The elite gritted its teeth and roared as it forced itself to stand. The metallic explosion of the magnesium pump action round splattered the elites head against the bulkhead wall. Melanie spun to her left, pumping the barrel with another round as she went. The other elite was standing, charging, barring down on her with all of its rage. The shot discharged, but missed.

Sammy 13 and Mathew 08 began shooting the grunts from the distance with their assault rifles, while Eric desperately sprinted to aid Melanie. He fired on a grunt with his shotgun, hitting the creature square in the chest. The small creature wailed in agony as it tumbled backwards.

Melanie quickly stepped back, hopping to give herself some time to reload the chamber. She pulled the pump back and a high pitched metal lock flipped a magnesium 15P shell into the chamber. The pump began to recoil, but it was too slow. Melanie caught the full aggression of the three hundred pound elite's fist in her chest. She flipped backward, her helmet tumbled across the floor, and her grip on the M90 loosened. She rolled over and stood to her feet, dazed but determined.

The elite reached out and slapped the barrel of the shotgun just as it discharged. Melanie dipped her right shoulder and brought the full wait of her body into a solid right hook. The elite stumbled, but it was able to grab Melanie's sleeve and pull her close. He gripped her by the neck and slammed her to the floor. Melanie screamed as the enormous pressure flowed through her chest. She heard a rib crack and she quickly inhaled as fast she could. Her chest expanded and the elite briefly struggled to apply more force. Melanie held it a second before she could no longer resist the elite's force. The elite slammed his fist into her chest again, and Melanie screamed in agony.

Swinging its head to left the elite spotted a plasma rifle and grabbed it. He pointed the gun at Melanie's head but he was quickly tackled by Eric; knocking him off of Melanie's chest. Eric didn't want to wrestle with the insanely strong elite, but if he shot the elite with the shotgun he may have hit Melanie. The elite lost its grip on the plasma rifle and grabbed the barrel of Eric's shotgun. The two struggled to gain control of the weapon. Eric kicked out and the elite lost its grip. Eric rolled the shotgun around and planted the barrel in the elite's chest and fired. The elite was propelled a few inches into the air before its lifeless form fell on top of Eric. Eric pushed the mass off of him and ran to Melanie side.

Melanie cringed on the ground and held her chest as blood sat at the back of throat. She leaned to the side and spat the blood filled mucus onto the deck. She slowly stood as Eric grabbed her from behind.

"What the hell was that?" Eric roared. Sammy 13 and Mathew 08 raced to their side and quickly looked the deck over for more hostiles.

"So far, so good, 19." Sammy 13 added. "We're clear from here to the elevator. If she's injured we should leave her here."

"I'm not staying behind!" Melanie sobbed, struggling to breath.

"We all loved her, Melanie." Sammy 13 whispered; her voice calm and true. "But we all know that this war will cost us loved ones."

Eric looked at Sammy and felt her concern. They had all lost someone close over the past hour. Squad mates and friends had been left behind on Troy, but they new that they had to fight on. Now was not the time to loose focus.

"08 and 13 take point, and check the next corridor." Eric barked. "We don't have time, those civilians are running out of places to hide."

Sammy and Mathew quickly repressed their thoughts and stated, "Sir."

"I'm not going to loose you." Eric softly stated to Melanie. "Gather as much bounty from those dead grunts. You should find a ton of plasma grenades. But then take cover at the bulkhead and hold this zone till the deck is clear. Get me?" Melanie softly smiled at the thought of playing with a lot of plasma grenades; she would most likely have more fun with them then her M90.

"Sir, yes sir." Melanie sighed as she turned to face Eric. Eric began to pull away from Melanie to follow 08 and 13, but Melanie lunged out and hugged him. "I'm not going to loose you either." Eric grinned softly and nodded his head, agreeing to her statement. He then jogged to 08 and 13, giving them quick nods to push on. He then tapped his helmet com and a static burst filled the line.

"02, what's the progress?" Eric stated into the com.

"We broke through and put the hammer down on a few covie bad asses." Roy 02 replied. "I have twenty or more marines in my rank and we are pushing toward deck six now. The shock troopers are holding there own, but they're pinned down. ETA to deck six, about two minutes."

"Keep me posted when you can." Eric added.

"Will do." The static burst ended the call and Eric focused on the task ahead. The group neared another service corridor. Sammy 13 quickly held up her fist and pressed herself closely to the wall. Eric 19 and Mathew 08 quickly took cover while Sammy peeped around the corner. Without looking away from the enemy forces around the corner, she quickly held up two fingers and raised them directly over her head without moving them; two hunters. She then held up five fingers pointing them down; five grunts. She then made a fist and held it tight for a few seconds; she was still looking the area over. Suddenly she held up three fingers and tapped the side of her head; the leaders, or as they were generally called, elites.

"Damn hunters." Eric thought to himself. "Not the smartest, but surely the deadliest." Eric then looked up and spotted a hallway marking: D2 C9. "Deck two, corridor 9?" He smiled to himself. "Those idiots." Eric ran boldly toward the adjoining wall to the corridor and pressed open the access panel. He was easily spotted by the Covenant forces and they all roared in anger.

Sammy suddenly figured it out as well. She fired several shots around the corner to keep the hunters and elites distracted. Two grunts lobbed grenades but they arrived too late. The door to the corridor closed. Eric then keyed in more commands and several doors around the enemy forces closed, trapping them in the corridor. He then opened a long row of doors until they reached the junction to the evacuation gangplank.

"Got'em." Sammy cheered. With a sadistic smile Eric opened the pressure door of the gangplank and depressurized the corridor. The unfortunate group of covenant forces was blown out into space, and the ones that held on simply died as the cold radiation of space killed them. Eric waited longer then needed, and sealed the door. He then pressurized the corridor and walked in. Sammy 13 quickly began to put bullet holes in the elite's heads to make sure they were dead.

A burst of static filled Eric's ear, "19, we just noticed you gave a fail save override sequence to a pressure door. I hope that was a good thing." Captain Monroe stated.

"Yes, Captain." Eric replied. "It was a necessary evil. Deck two is almost clear, and we are now heading to the port side to clear out anymore hostiles."

"Very good, 19." Monroe replied. The channel went silent and Eric switched frequencies.

"05, fall back to the elevator and tell Doctor Smith to start bringing up the civilians." Eric stated to Melanie.

"Roger that." Melanie stated as her lone come back.

"Keep them to the aft until we sound the all clear. 19 out." Eric ended the transmission and they proceeded toward the port side of deck two.

* * *

"Sir that ship is still hot to fire!" The helmsman shouted sharply. 

"Weapons, fire Archer pods one thru four on our first target!" Captain Monroe shouted. "Helm put us on a direct course for that trailing cruiser!"

"MA'AM?" The helmsman questioned in a shocked tone.

"Just do it!" Monroe sternly added. "Engineering, prepare to jump on my signal. Ares, the moment we get close to that ship put another MAC round in it."

Calmly, the AI replied, "Yes captain." The command crew had been dodging liquid plasma for more then twenty minutes, and there nerves were on edge. The Rogue Fantasy wasn't the fastest ship in the fleet, nor was it the strongest, but it was the most maneuverable. The ship could relatively turn on a dime and accelerate faster then the Covenant torpedoes could change course. But the Rogue Fantasy wasn't designed to take on four ships, only to get away. Its lone MAC gun was fairly insufficient on power, but it could do its fair share of damage.

"This is a huge gamble, captain." One of the command crew stated. "Those Covenant ships can detect our SFTE engine signals. If they are scanning us then they'll know we're going to make a run for it. They'll chase us down and finish us off for sure."

"They can detect our signal, but they can't track us if they're dead." Monroe stated. Her confidence had increased since the battle began, and she had relaxed substantially. Her first space battle was going relatively well, and despite the odds they were all still alive.

"Distance to covenant cruiser, 1000 kilometers." The navigator stated.

"Incoming torpedoes!"

"Steady people!"

"We're going to hit!"

"You heard the Captain, calm down. Engines primed and ready!"

"Ares, fire!"

"MAC round away." The ship rocked backward as the ferric-tungsten round was accelerated from the MAC at the head of the ship.

"Direct hit, the cruisers shields are down."

"Engine recharge in ten seconds."

"Jesus this is going to be close."

"Fire all missile pods, helm bare to four-seven-nine marc two!"

"Slip drive ready!"

"Missiles impacting on Covenant cruiser. Covenant torpedoes are bearing down on our ass!"

"Ares, jump to slip space!"

"Slip space tare forming, and… my god."

"What the hell is that?"

"I can't maintain stability!"

"Slip space is expanding."

"Helm, all ahead full!"

"We've breached the threshold and the slip space integrity field is stable."

"Stability regained. How the hell did we do that?"

"The covenant cruisers are being torn apart. They couldn't get their integrity field stable in time."

"Thank God for physics."

"I can't believe it."

"We did it!"

"We're not out of the woods yet people. We still have boarders." Captain Monroe stated, but she felt more relieved knowing that she didn't have to deal with more Covenant cruisers.

* * *

Sammy 13 chased the grunt down and her assault rifle spat its shells into the back of the grunts head. Eric 19 put two M90 rounds into the elite and it dropped in a roar of pain, as Mathew 08 feverishly mowed down a group of grunts at the opposite end of the hallway. When the last bullet was fired Eric swept the bodies in his immediate area. 

"Clear." Eric stated to his squad.

Mathew 08 checked the grunts as well, "Clear."

"Clear." Sammy 13 replied. They had done their duty so far, but there were still small enemy targets scattered around the ship, but at least for now they could relax.

"Captain, deck two is clear." Eric stated into the com.

"Good to hear it." Monroe replied. "We've reentered slip space, two more jumps and we can make a course for Sol. So far no one's chasing us. Clean up the rest of the stragglers and report the details." Eric could hear that this battle had given the young captain a new sense of confidence. The fist battle was always the hardest.

"Aye-aye." Eric turned to Sammy and Mathew, and nodded softly. "Take a breath. We got some rats to find before we're done."

Deck two was now secure but deck six was quickly being overrun. The vast majority of enemy forces had boarded at the aft of the ship and they were eager to take down the Rogue Fantasy's engines. Roy 02 and Justin 14 were doing all they could to hold the line of Covenant forces, but there seemed to be no end to their attacks.

"Jesus, they just keep coming!" Shouted an ODST from his corner position.

"Just keep an eye out for grenade flares." Roy 02 shouted over the constant burst of assault riffle fire. The two Black Ops members were at the head of the formation and they were flanked by more then a dozen Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and numerous marines. Behind them was the only entrance into the engineering hold. Roy thought that it was going to be a simple matter defending deck six, because they were able to clear out deck five with little trouble, but now he was having second thoughts. The room leading into the engineering hold spanned the entire width of the ship, and funneled toward the engine hold door. The room was the main maintenance bay, and scattered throughout it were various parts, engine components and storage lockers. It was a maze of junk that provided everyone with plenty of coverage for firing, but it also meant that the Covenant had the same advantage.

"Grenade!" Roy screamed as he spotted a grunt prime a glowing white-blue ball within its claws. The grunt began to draw back to heave the plasma grenade, but Roy laid into it with a full clip. The grunt dropped the grenade as the creature screamed in pain. The plasma grenade landed between two jackals and an elite. The elite jumped clear but the jackals never saw the glow of the grenade until it was too late. The grenade exploded and sent the lifeless jackal bodies flailing across the room.

Roy sighed as he quickly reloaded his rifle; never letting his gaze off of the battle zone. With his sharp reflexes he looked from corner to corner, watching for any sign of grenades or hunters; those massive creatures could easily rush their formation and end the stand. Roy 02 and Justin 14 knew that their position was horrible; defending a lone corridor where the enemy could easily out flank you or overwhelm you with destructive force, but oddly the elites had yet to utilize their superior positions.

"14, we have to prevent them from flanking us." Roy stated to Justin. He was practically shouting so that Justin would hear him over the numerous assault riffle fire from the marines and ODST at his side.

"Options?" Justin 14 questioned. From that moment Roy 02 began to analyze the battle zone. He began to take into account the number of soldiers at his disposal, the layout of the room, the position of the door, and the determination of the Covenant advance. After thinking it over, he realized that they were all as good as dead, but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

He looked to Justin and flashed five fingers twice, waved his left hand toward the left edge of the room, made a fist and quickly pointed to the Covenant forces. Justin understood and realized that Roy's plan was pretty good for a dire situation. Justin 14 quickly turned and tapped five marines and five ODST on the shoulder. They all quickly jumped from their positions and followed Justin to the left edge of the room. A massive engine component made excellent coverage for his small team. Once they arrived at the position they had a clear view of the advancing forces. He looked back toward the door and nodded to Roy. Justin couldn't help but notice that if the elites had moved to this position first, there would have been no cover for him and the group. They would have been fish in a barrel.

Justin returned the nod with a series of hand signals, clearly orchestrating a last ditch effort to regain any form of ground they could get. The Covenant were pushing hard and it was time for the UNSC to push back or die.

Justin 14 agreed to the plan. He then told several to the marines to hold their position and wait for the signal. Justin 14 and the five ODST quickly spotted another cover position along the wall, and one by one they sprinted to the position. A red armored elite spotted one of them and quickly roared to get the attention of the grunts.

Nervously the grunts raced toward the flanking humans, firing their plasma pistols with determination. The elite suddenly realized that the humans had divided their forces and were attempting to out flank their advance. The elite roared in frustration, they were so determined to press into the engine section of the ship that they had not planned out the attack. The humans were placing themselves in an excellent position to counter attack. He was unwise to rush into this battle unprepared. The elite turned and ran from the room, not in cowardice but in strategy. In the hallway where his forces were reading themselves to enter the room, he approached the hulking blue metal of a hunter pair. The bond brothers growled with approval. The elite quickly pointed to the room and the massive hunters hulked through the doors.

Justin took down two grunts and then tossed a grenade near the door the Covenant forces were entering through. The blast killed two elites and two jackals. This immediately got the attention of the other Covenant forces in the room. They turned and were quickly mowed down from the front and side, as Roy's group at the engineering hold door and Justin's group on the side, fired with everything they had.

"Hell, this might work." Roy whispered to himself. He pulled up on his riffle and fired controlled bursts while frag-grenades and gun fire rattled around the room. They had taken the upper hand and things were going well, the elites were in full retreat, or so they thought.

"Damn it." Roy sighed as the massive blue frame of a hunter entered the room. His only concern had been realized. The hunter raised its shield and slowly marched toward Roy's position. The fuel rod gun along its arm began to glow a cold green-blue. "Take cover!" Roy dived clear as the plasma streamed passed him. Two of the shock troopers were not as lucky. Their bodies melted away before they could scream. The second hunter quickly turned on Justin's position, eliminating any hope of shooting the hunters in the back. Justin and his group fired wildly, hoping to get a lucky shot, but with no success. The hunter laughed at the futile effort and powered his cannon.

The command elite sat proudly in his red armor. He had miss judged the humans, but the hunters would put fear back into them. This battle would be settled soon and he would send his second wave to eliminate any of the human stragglers that were left behind. He turned and looked to his squad of elites, jackals, and the lowly grunts. They were all bundled up in the small foyer that lead into the massive room, but for now it would have to do. He wanted to send more troops into the maintenance room, but they would only get in the hunters way. He smirked with confidence and looked to a nearby grunt. The unggoy was nervously peeping into the room, as if it wanted to see what was happening. The elite gripped the grunt by the back of the head and tossed it into the room. The grunt whined and panicked as he slid across the floor. He quickly jumped to his feet and was overwhelmed by the sounds of plasma and human weapon fire. He then ran to an opposite corner and hid.

The red armored elite laughed at the site, grunts were truly worthless creatures. The other elites in his command joined in the chuckle as they continued to wait for the hunter to thin the human numbers. He then heard a soft pinging sound throughout the room and the other elites heard it as well. Suddenly there were more of the sounds. He looked down and saw the small metal ball of a human grenade. Shock quickly consumed him and he turned around. At the unguarded rear door he spotted three humans, tossing grenades into the room. In his determination he also overlooked guarding the rear. He roared and turned, he wanted to escape into the room with the hunters but the first grenade detonated sending him bouncing of the side wall. Another grenade, and another, and another until the room was filled with fragments of what was once thirty Covenant warriors. The grenades were well placed and none survived.

"Clear!" Eric 19 stated as he steeped into the blood soaked foyer. "I can't believe they left their rear open like that. Those elites are usually meticulous with their strategies."

"This entire attack seemed odd, if you ask me." Sammy 13 added. With her assault rifle pressed firmly against her shoulder she stepped clear of the door and entered the maintenance room. "Jesus, hunters!"

"08!" Eric shouted. Mathew sprinted through the room and stood beside Eric and Sammy.

"We take down the closest one first." Eric ordered. Sammy and Mathew agreed. The turned to the right and took aim at the hunters back. "Aim for the glow!" All three assault rifles roared as bullets soared across the room. Their aim was deadly and dozens of the shells splattered the soft body tissue of the hunter. The creature gargled as it stood to its full height of twelve feet, and slammed the top of its head against the maintenance room ceiling. It then slouched and tumbled to the deck. The beast's heavy armor was less guarded on the rear and made killing the hulking creature easy. The second hunter roared with fury and turned to see that its bond brother had been slain. It began to charge at Eric, Sammy and Mathew.

The trio spun on their heels, weapons held high, and fired on the charging mass of metal and flesh. The hunter didn't care about defending itself or using the powerful fuel rod cannon on its arm, it simply wanted the joy of crushing the humans that had slain its bond brother. He raced at an almost incredible speed for a creature so large.

"Come on 02." Eric murmured under his voice. He knew there was no need to run and that their best bet was to keep the creature focused on them. With only ten feet between the trio and the hunter, the creature growled and tumbled forward. It then slid to a stop at Sammy's feet and she sighed with a nervous gasp.

"Cut it any closer, 02?" Sammy snarled. Roy 02 and what was left of his squad lowered their guns and cheered.

"Check on 14." Eric stated as he began to scout the room. Roy assisted Eric in looking for any enemy survivors. Sammy raced to the area where Justin's group was pinned by the plasma cannon of the hunter. She found three bodies, burned beyond recognition.

"No." Sammy snapped. Mathew raced across the room to check on his squad mate as well. Sammy checked the charred remains of each body, taking dog-tags and identifying the bodies. "

"Justin!" Mathew shouted, hoping his squad mate would respond. They had lost so many members of the Black Ops and lived through so many close calls, he couldn't stand the idea of another friend dieing so close to being saved.

"Here." A gargled cry came from the corner. Sammy and Justin pushed aside a mass of metal from some spare parts in the room and found Justin, partially burned but still alive.

"You lucky son of a bitch." Mathew giggled. He dropped his gun and helped push the metal off of Justin. Sammy softly cried, happy that they didn't have any fatalities in this battle. The swirl of emotions began to rise up within her and she could no longer hold back the memories of her brothers and sisters in arms. They had watched three of their own get killed on Troy; 09, 12, and the squad leader Kim 04. But what hurt even more was the thought of those they had left behind, fighting on the surface of Troy with a few thousand civilians. Mathew put his hand on Sammy's shaved head and let her cry. Justin winced in pain as he tried to sit up.

"We left them behind." Sammy murmured. "Nine of our squad mates, we left them on the surface, they were so close but we left them there." Mathew had nothing to say.

The surviving ODST and marines rarely saw the informal side of the Black Ops. Watching 13 cry was painful sight for the hardened warriors because they were accustomed to seeing the Black Ops as their leaders and inspiration. Although saddened by what they were seeing they felt an overall sense of relief, knowing that if the Black Ops could let their guards down then the battle was truly over.

"13, watch over 14." Mathew 08 stated. "I'm going to check on 02 and 19." A quick realization sat in that the medical crews could not be notified until the room was secure. The Black Ops couldn't let their guard down yet. "19, what's your position?" Mathew questioned into his com.

"On the port side of the room, and trying to decide on what to do with our new little friend." Eric replied with a confused tone. Mathew raced to the opposite side and spotted Eric and Roy hovering over a trembling grunt.

"No shoot!" The grunt stated repeatedly. Roy couldn't help but laugh.

"When they're like this, they're just too damn cute to kill." Roy laughed.

"Get some marines to take it to the brig." Eric stated to Roy. "I don't want it harmed. But I have some questions to ask it. 08, contact 05 and tell her to get the medical teams down here now, we've got countless wounded." Eric tapped his helmet communicator and contacted the bridge. "Captain, deck five and engineering are secure. I recommend recalling General Quarters, and sending out search parties to find any other stragglers on board. We also have a captured grunt. I'll interrogate it as soon as possible. Over."

"Understood 19." Captain Monroe stated. "I'll meet you in the brig when you are ready."

"Roger that." Eric stated. He then turned to the ODST huddled together around a few of their fallen brothers and marched toward them. "No time to morn our friends yet, gentlemen. Reload your gear, get some bandages on your boo-boos and start a deck by deck sweep. I doubt we missed anything but better safe then sorry. Questions?"

"No sir!" The men said in unison.

"Good. Move out."

On deck two, Melanie was getting some much needed medical aid.

"You've got a punctured lung, three broken ribs, a broken sternum and a dislocated shoulder." Carolyn Smith stated as she examined Melanie with a portable scanner. "Does it hurt anywhere else, 05?"

"I have a headache." Melanie 05 smiled.

"You have a headache?" Carolyn curiously questioned.

"A big headache." Melanie replied.

Carolyn smiled and added, "I'm glade you haven't lost your spunk, 05." She then turned to one of the male nurses at her side. "Take her to the med bay, and prep her for surgery. I'll be there shortly."

"Under the knife again, doc?" Melanie laughed. "That has to be some form of record for me."

"Four surgery's in a month, yes, you have the record in my book." Carolyn replied as she walked away. "I'm just glad we didn't loose you today." Melanie's laughter was the only thing she could do to keep from thinking about her sister. Kim was gone, and no force in the universe could bring her back.

After a painstaking search of the ship, Eric 19 was finally satisfied that the Covenant forces had been fully neutralized. Along with the Captain and several guards, he asked the grunt several questions but received no real answers. An hour of interrogating the creature was enough and he ventured to the med bay where Melanie 05 was resting after her surgery.

"How's the ship, sir?" Melanie questioned. The soft lights of her room shinning off her freshly washed skinned.

"At ease, Melanie." Eric stated as he sat on a stool beside her bed. "The ship is fine."

"I heard we caught a grunt. Everybody's talking about it. Can we keep it?"

"It's not a pet." Eric laughed.

"Come on, Eric. Imagine it, a five foot talking dog! What girl wouldn't kill for one of those?"

"ONI will decide what to do with it once we reach SOL."

"You know they'll kill him, Eric. As Black Ops squad leader you can pull some strings. How many times have we put our necks out for those dicks back home? ONI, Earth, even Ackerson owes us one."

"Mel." Eric sighed.

"He'd lighten the mood here. Make time go a little faster, and I've heard of other ships picking up grunts and letting them join up with them. They're nice creatures, unless you're on the receiving end of plasma pistol, and then you simple want to punt the little rascal across the ship, but mostly they're harmless. Have you seen how those elites treat them? The poor things are only following orders…"

"I'm disbanding the Black Ops." Eric interrupted.

"… so I'm sure that if we can get the grunts away from the elites they will be fine, and happy. And … and…we can be happy." Melanie leaned back on her bed and gazed at ceiling, as her eyes began to swell with tears.

"I'm sorry." Eric continued. "I don't want to see anyone else I care for get hurt."

"Don't do this." Melanie softly sobbed. "Don't run away from this."

"I was a stupid kid when I joined the core and dragged you all with me." Eric hung his head, shame filled his face. "I thought that I could make a difference, one man could give the Earth some much needed time. I wanted to be a hero. I'm not a Spartan, just a stupid man that brought his friends across the galaxy to get killed in a war we can't win."

"Eric shut up!" Melanie screamed. "If we don't fight we die. We'll all die. Look at what you did today. You lead us to victory after they swept through our ship! You can make a difference."

"Killing an army of soldiers that has unlimited resources isn't going to win the war. We need better technology, better ships, and weapons. Rose was right."

"Rose?" Melanie questioned with a snarl.

"I'm going back to be with her, to make better weapons, better ships and anything else that I think will help us win."

"So that's it then." Melanie mumbled. "My sister died for nothing."

"No, she died because I brought her out here."

"NO! She died because she wanted to fight and protect those she cared for on Earth and all of the inner colonies. What are you scared of? Why are you running away?"

"I don't want to lose you." Eric stated.

"Me? Lose me! You're telling me that you're going to end the Black Ops, run to Earth to be with Rose, all because you don't want to lose me!"

"You're coming with me." Eric added.

"No, I'm not. My sister, my older sister, died fighting. She died doing what she has been trained and surgically altered to do. We've been fighting for fifteen years Eric, there is no way in Hell you are going to make me leave the fight."

"I already contacted a HighCom relay station. They agreed that with six members we are no longer fit to run our operations. When we reach SOL fleet yards for our repairs, everyone will be reassigned to Earth. They think we've done enough in service of the Earth. They'll officially debrief us when we arrive, but I'll put in and make sure we all get promotions and new ranks within the UNSC. I'm going to find Rose and work with her. I hope you'll come join us."

"You asshole." Melanie sobbed. "You stupid jerk. How dare you drag our squad down like this? If Kim were here she'd beat the hell out of you. She loved you and you ruined everything she has devoted her life to over the past fifteen years!"

"Sorry 05." Eric stated formally. "You have your orders. Get some rest, and if you want to talk more, we can later." Eric stood from his seat and walked out of the room. As the door closed behind him all he could hear was Melanie's soft sobs."

* * *

Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
Slip Space time difference 12 hours:  
21:00 October 21, 2552  
Slip Space to elite home world; Dorenth 

Eric slowly opened his eyes and only the soft purple hue of the Covenant Cruiser was visible. Everything was blurry, but he could tell that he was in a different room. To his own surprise he had survived the encounter with the elite Lieutenant, Gridolee. Everything hurt, but he brushed aside the pain and sat up from the bed.

"Sir!" A medic shockingly stated. "You shouldn't be up yet, you need to rest."

"I've rested long enough." Eric stated as he blindly felt around the table. "Where's my gear?"

"I'll get it for you, Sarge." The medic replied. He then ran to a chair where a covered figure was resting beneath blankets. He violently shook the person's shoulder and proceeded to gather Eric's clothes and gear. The blanket pulled back and Rose stared at Eric with a fuzzy glare.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rose questioned.

"Rose?" Eric replied, rubbing his eyes to aid in his vision returning. "I have a ship to secure and soldiers that need to be briefed." Rose grabbed the medic and motioned for him to drop Eric's gear.

"Melanie is running things just fine." Rose replied as she walked closer to Eric. "The elites are being more then supportive, at least for now. They want to get back at the brutes just as bad as we want to end this war. They don't seem to be concerned with us for the moment, so lay down."

"Not an option." Eric replied. "There is too much that needs to be done."

"I said lay down." Rose pushed Eric back onto the table. His shoulder suddenly erupted in pain and he winced softly. "Melanie is in charge till you are back on your feet."

"I'm fine." Eric stated, but he made no attempts to get up again. Rose sat beside him and held his hand. She looked at him with an awkward gaze and fumbled his hands loosely in her own. The story Melanie had told her was still fresh in her mind, even though she ended it more then six hours ago. She now understood why Eric had changed so much, why he came back to Earth and why he was covered in scars. After fifteen years of fighting, he came back to Earth to be with her and to help her build better weapons, weapons that were still under development when the Covenant attacked, and to save the life of his friends.

"My eyes are getting better." Eric chuckled. "I'm starting to see clearly again." Rose then laid her head on his chest, but never let go of his hand. "You okay?" Eric curiously questioned.

Rose relaxed, closed her eyes and stated. "Eric, you're an idiot."

**_To be continued…_**


	13. It’s just a grunt, right?

**Stage 13: It's just a grunt, right?**

Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
Slip Space time difference 3 Days 7 hours:  
17:50 October 24, 2552  
Sengheili controlled space  
Central Sangheili Solar System

Three days of slip space travel and nervously pondering the future of their mission. Three days of countless conflicts between the humans and the elites around the ship. Three days of nerve wrecking talks of revenge and peace, and finally the crew of the Life and Sacrifice had arrived within the Sengheili territory.

The Life and Sacrifice sat motionless in space, just beyond the outer region of Sangheili controlled space. The ship had been contacted by an elite outpost and was warned not to enter until notified, but no notification had come. The crew was becoming more and more restless as time clicked away, and the elites were growing tired of waiting to hear back from the outpost. Something odd was in the air.

Eric paced nervously on the command pedestal alongside Captain Domadree. He furiously rubbed his cleanly shaven chin while in the midst of deep thought, unaware of anything happening around him. He hoped that everything would go smoothly and despite the original objective, he would be the first human to set foot on the elite home world. It would be up to him to establish peace or intensify the war. Would he bring the elites to aid the humans or escalate the war further? One thought suddenly popped into his mind, ONI should have placed a negotiator on the ship. He chuckled softly to himself, but his thoughts suddenly came back to reality.

Despite elder Bortello's words of reassurance, Eric knew that he and the various other humans under his command were now in enemy territory. He had advised Siren to notify every marine and ODST onboard to carry their sidearm at all times; as a precaution. His magnum sat tightly at his waist, and was loaded and primed with a round in the chamber. The elites had been cut off from the rest of their fleet just as he and his platoon were, meaning that anything could have happened over the last three days. The situation was indeed complex.

At the bridge door stood Melanie. She watched as several members of the elite command crew nervously spoke to each other softly, trying to asses the situation, but only becoming more confused then before. She looked to Eric, and watched as he paced. She could tell that he was concerned and showing more emotion then normal. He had personally promoted her to Private, and placed her as second in command of the UNSC forces the moment he had returned to active duty. He had also wanted to sit and talk to her about Rose, but Melanie did not want to discuss it. The memories of the past had stirred up too many ill feelings that she didn't want to express to her CO, and naturally Eric let her be. He hadn't spoken to her privately or showed any concern sense, but still she knew her duty. She watched closely, watching every twitch, eye movement, gesture and glare of the elites on the bridge. She shifted her weight to her left leg, to give her right leg a break, and her slung battle rifle shifted on her back. The barrel softly tapped the side of her shoulder guard and gave a soft ping.

Melanie was fully loaded and ready for anything. Her battle riffle had a fresh clip with three rounds already locked in the barrel. She also had four additional magazines in her belt pouch. Her M6 magnum was also primed and ready, while securely stored in her belt case. But Melanie's pride was explosives and strapped to her armor in various locations were four frag grenades and two plasmas. She even found a nice place for her combat knife, strapping it securely to the side of her boot. If any of the elites flinched the wrong way, she wouldn't hesitate to end its pathetic life.

The continuous sound of footsteps caught Melanie's ear as the bridge door opened. The heavily reverberating steps could only belong to the largest beast on the ship, Lieutenant Gridolee. He nodded to Melanie in passing, to assure her that he had recognized her presence. There was little respect in the gesture, only confirmation that he had seen her. Melanie returned the nod, but she mainly observed his weapons and mood. Gridolee had calmed down since his encounter with Eric, but he was still aggressive, and Melanie had the odd sensation that the elite warrior could suddenly snap at any time. Melanie didn't like Gridolee, or the fact that he was the captain's second in command. He was a loose cannon and an odd factor amongst the normally mentally disciplined elites.

Gridolee stepped gracefully across the bridge, his hoofs clapping softly against the odd floor coating. He was full aware that the command crew was watching his every movement and he enjoyed the attention. His body moved with a smooth rhythm, he arched his shoulders forward and held his head level at all time, preventing the natural bob of his movements from affecting his stature. In his own mind he was clearly the most powerful warrior on the ship, and as he climbed the command pedestal he spotted Eric and made his way toward him, frowning scornfully at the human that had humiliated him. Gridolee was aware that the tiny human had a bit of luck in their fight a few days ago, he had not focused during the fight and the human gained a small advantage. But he had to admit that Eric was a skilled combatant, and had earned some respect. Gridolee stopped once he reached Eric and Domadree and nodded respectfully to both.

"Has there been any word, Captain?" Gridolee questioned. He took his place beside Eric and clasped his hands behind his back.

"None, lieutenant." Domadree replied. "Nor has there been any ship activity in the vicinity."

"Perhaps they are too overwhelmed to respond at present." Gridolee added.

"No, that is not possible." Domadree noted as he accessed the star chart. The command console's main holotank began to glow and several solar systems displayed before them. A group of red navigation pointers marked the locations of all the elite colony worlds, and at the edge of these worlds sat a flashing blue marker that indicated the location of the Life and Sacrifice. "Our outer colonies have not replied as well. We have sent several transmissions but none have replied. There is also no activity on any of the lower band frequencies. This is not typical procedure. Perhaps the betrayal has made it here as well." Domadree felt a knot form in his stomach at the thought of the Prophets betrayal making it to their home territory.

"Captain, I think we've waited long enough." Eric commented. "We've been sending burst transmissions for the past four hours, and we are in the heart of covenant space. Not only should your people know we're here, but I'm sure the brutes have heard us as well. The longer we wait here the more enemy ships we may have to deal with."

"To advance deeper into our home territory without a clearance command would be an act of treason, sergeant." Gridolee quickly noted, but he turned to Domadree and sighed sharply. "But this situation leaves us without many options, so I must agree. Captain, the sergeant is correct. If the betrayal has come to our home, then we must not hesitate any longer."

"I agree." Domadree quickly stated as he loosely gazed at the star chart. He felt a warm peace hearing Gridolee agree with the human, and perhaps there was a possibility that their unique alliance would not end in bloodshed. "Helm, bypass the confirmation locks. Navigator, set our slip space course to Dorenth. Communications, begin transmitting our vector to Jogrennilee. Surely our capital city will respond to us."

"Jogrennilee." Eric whispered to himself. "I guess our intelligence was correct."

"What do you mean, sergeant?" Gridolee questioned.

"During an interrogation a few months ago, we wanted to find the elite home world." Eric stated. "But all we got was the planets name and capital, but no coordinates."

"No elite would give you that information, sergeant. Not even if threatened with death." Girdolee quickly added. "Where were you able to get such information?"

"A grunt." Eric laughed.

"Typical." Gridolee hissed.

"The grunts have served us well, lieutenant." Domadree interrupted. "There numbers have assisted us in countless victories, but let us not forget that they are merely slaves. I believe this is something else we may need to evaluate."

"Perhaps, but in combat, a grunt is nothing more then a grunt." Gridolee added.

The Life and Sacrifice quietly entered slip space and began its short journey deeper into Sangheili space. Soon, they would be in orbit of the elite home world of Dorenth.

* * *

Dorenth  
October 24, 2552  
Elite Capital City of Jogrennilee 

The sun slowly began to set on another tear filled day, as the smoldering towers etched the once great city of Jogrennilee, now only shadow of its former glory. In one day the brutes, jackals and drones had torn across the great world of Dorenth, but their overall objective was to take Jogrennilee, the elite Capital City and home of the elite High Council. In Jogrennilee the brutes believed they could strike fear in the heart of all elites and conquer the elite's world. But the brutes had not factored the true potential of their smallest enemy; the grunts. The grunts combined their numbers and tore through the brutes with unbridled aggression. The grunts hunted and killed in packs, and not even the massive strength of a brute was able to defend itself from a pack of ten or more grunts.

Quietly hovering above the city were dozens of carriers, cruisers and battle ships that were controlled by elites. These ships carried supplies and troops from various colonies within Sangheili controlled space, all answering to the call of their home planet. They had abandoned the colonies and brought as many resources to Dorenth as possible. In total, nearly twelve hundred ships covered Dorenth's surface. These ships were all that was left of the elite battle group defending their home space. More warriors were spread across space, but for now only this small fraction of the elite armada remained.

In the heart of Jogrennilee, the clean up efforts continued for throughout the day. Piles of brute, drone and jackal bodies were burned with a holy flame all across the world, marking a ceremony of eternal hatred for the creatures that once shared the same goal as the elites. Now, only rituals of damnation and unrivaled blood oaths connected the two species. Vows of death, curses and vengeance could be heard on every street. As the dead bodies burned the high council members took the ash and smeared their hands and faces in the remains of their enemies, a sign for all elites that there will never be peace or talks with those that have turned their backs on their alliance. The brutes had slaughtered the females and young that did not make it to the inner sanctum in time to avoid the battle, and there was no forgiving of such a deed.

In the heart of Jogrennilee, beyond one of the many ceremonial gathering of the dead, sat a lone elite warrior, and upon his black armor he bore the battle markings of warrior. His purple bar signaled him as a member of the Mirratord, the right hand of the High Council. Throughout the day he had yet to relax or clean his armor, he had not taken a break or eaten, because his only focus was on restoring the cities defenses. He wanted to join his brethren in the oaths and vows of hatred and vengeance, but now was not the time. While the regular warriors and the elders of the High Council took the oath, it was his responsibility to oversee reconstruction of the cities defenses. A task only fit for the Mirratord's Second; Lieutenant Rin Simyaldee.

"Sir." An elite stated as he approached Simyaldee. "We have received word that two other cities have opened their tram service. They will be sending more food and water shortly. It appears our first estimate of damage was greatly exaggerated. The brutes lack proper aim."

Simyaldee stood from his resting spot and sighed heavily, "Indeed. They attacked us head on but did not destroy every city, this is indeed good news. Be sure that the troops are first to be feed, along with the civilian volunteers and the elders."

"And what about you sir?" The Mirratord warrior stated. "You have not eaten since you arrived on the planet, you must eat."

"I will dine when the defenses have been refit." Simyaldee quickly added. "Plus, when I am working, I will not think of the many lives we have lost during these last few days."

"Very well." The warrior replied. "I was also told to inform you that another ship has entered our system. Oddly, it was one of our cruisers assigned to the Prophet of Regret's battle group."

"And what is the name of this ship?" Simyaldee questioned.

"The Life and Sacrifice, sir."

"Ship master Domadree's ship?" Simyaldee questioned. "He is a skilled Mirratord warrior, but we can not take any chances. An elder was aboard his ship, which means that the brutes would have fought hard to take control." Simyaldee lowered his head and rubbed his left mandible in deep thought. "Contact the Knight and Piercing Arrow's battle group and tell them to intercept that ship and verify that it is in the control of our brethren. If so, then they will need to be updated on the current events. Have the command crew to brought to me at once. If it is under brute control, destroy it."

"Yes sir." The elite left Simyaldee and raced to a nearby communications uplink. Simyaldee simply pondered the events at hand and thought deeply on his next course of action. He soon stood to his feet and began ordering debris moved from the area so that a command bunker could be erected.

* * *

Elite Super Carrier: The Knight and Piercing Arrow  
Lower Dorenth orbit

"Captain, we have just received word that we are to intercept the incoming ship; the Life and Sacrifice." The communications officer shouted across the massive bridge. Standing atop the command pedestal was Captain Timnaldae, the ship master that had turned the tide of the war. His actions alone were not the reason the elites were victorious, but his deeds brought the change, the change that aligned the grunts with the elites. "The order comes directly from Lieutenant Simyaldee. We are ordered to intercept and evaluate if the ship is under the command of our brethren, otherwise terminate."

Timnaldae walked to the edge of the pedestal and folded his arms across his expansive chest. His golden armor shined marvelously in the light of the bridge and his presence continued to fill his command crew with respect. His leadership kept them alive throughout earlier events of the civil war and now it was being put to the test again.

"This will be the third ship today." Timnaldae expressed. "We will not be fooled. Arm weapons and set an intercept course."

"Yes captain." The helmsman replied as he turned to face his console.

"Are they broadcasting any conformation signals?" Timnaldae questioned.

"Yes sir, but it is an older code." The communications officers replied. "It's being directed toward Jogrennilee. The signal is current for the Prophet of Regret's battle group. If this ship came from that group they would not be aware of any changes."

"Very well." Timnaldae stated. He turned and walked to the edge of the command pedestal. He stood firmly and tightly tossed back his shoulders while he clasped his hands behind the small of his back. "Open a channel."

"Ready sir."

"This is captain Timnaldae of the Knight and Piercing Arrow, contacting Covenant cruiser Life and Sacrifice. Bring your ship to bearing 121.656 marc 324 and lower you defenses. Failure to comply will result in your death."

"Sir, the ship is now exiting slip space and is heading toward the desired coordinates."

"Good." Timnaldae stated firmly. "Anything unusual detected?"

"No sir, but…" The crewman paused as he observed an odd fluctuation on his command console. "Sir, something's wrong. My console just flashed oddly when I attempted to scan the ships system."

Tinmaldae gritted his teeth sharply and snarled, "A damned human construct, again!"

"Yes sir, it appears to be the same pattern as before."

"Life and Sacrifice, respond or be destroyed." Timnaldae calmly stated.

"Forgive the intrusion, captain." A female voice stated over the bridge speakers. "But I had to be sure that you were really elites. I will disconnect from your system immediately."

The main video screen suddenly flashed to life in front of Captain Timnaldee, catching him slightly off guard.

The image of another golden armored elite displayed on the screen saying, "Captain Timnaldae, I am captain Domadree of the Life and Sacrifice. Forgive the rudeness of the human construct, but we found it necessary to infiltrate your systems and verify your identity."

"That does not clarify your elegance." Timnaldae stated without showing concern or bitterness.

"Understood." Domadree stated. "Our weapons have been shut down and we await your approval."

"Prepare to be boarded, captain." Timnaldae sharply replied. "Our strike team will board and verify your crew."

"One thing, captain." Domadree interrupted. "Not only do we have a human construct on board, but we have also allied ourselves with humans. They freed us from our bondage when the brutes turned against us. Whatever steps that must be done, I beg you to hold your anger against these humans."

Timnaldae smirked softly, showing emotions he rarely displayed. He was joyful that this was not another brute sneak attack and that more of elite brethren's had returned home; despite that they were clueless to the events happening throughout the system.

"There is much you need to be informed of brother." Timnaldee softly added. "The humans are our allies, according to a pact formed by the Arbiter."

"Another Arbiter has been selected?" Domadree questioned with surprise. "When was this?"

"All will be clarified, brother." Timnaldae stated. "For now, prepare to receive boarders." Domadree nodded, showing his approval, and the communication video closed. "Notify the strike team to proceed with caution, and be advised that there are humans aboard that ship."

"Yes sir." The communications officer replied. Deep within the belly of the massive super carrier, three phantoms powered up and quickly exited the main landing deck. They soared swiftly across the small expanse between the two ships and only then could the size of the Knight and Piercing arrow be fully appreciated. The ship dwarfed the much smaller Life and Sacrifice by more then seven decks, and the length of the ship was nearly twice as long. The Knight and Piercing Arrow was created as the elite high council's command ship, but now it served as the main defensive weapon for the elite home world until the planetary defenses could be rebuilt.

The three phantoms quickly approached the landing dock of the Life and sacrifice, and immediately the strike team noticed the numerous human vehicles aboard. Pelicans, scorpions and warthogs lined the edges of the deck. As the three phantoms prepared to land, several elites and humans quickly filled the bay; all armed and ready to defend the ship if necessary. Two of the phantoms roared forward and began to unload its full crew of elites and grunts, must of which bore the black armor of the Special Operations. Aboard one of the phantoms was a hunter pair, for extra firepower, but the third phantom hovered and waited.

From the group of elites and humans stepped two individuals, Lieutenant Gridolee and Sergeant Eric Raynord.

"Lieutenant Gridolee?" The head elite from the phantom questioned. "I see you are still the biggest, yet youngest, of us all."

"Belmaeda." Gridolee stated firmly. "My mentor, at has been far too long since we have greeted each other."

"I agree, and I never would have imagined you to stand side by side with a human." Belmaeda firmly returned.

"This sergeant has gained some honor with me." Gridolee nervously replied. "I have the battle scars to justify it."

"Very good, sergeant, you must be quite skilled to give Gridolee a worthy duel." Belmaeda stated to Eric.

"We worked out our differences." Eric stated with a quick nod.

Belmaeda returned the nod and turned toward the third phantom, and stated into his com, "If Gridolee lives, then all is secure. He would rather die then betray us." The third phantom quickly descended and another group of black armored grunts leapt from the small gravity lift, but only grunts.

"Why were those grunts deployed without a commander?" Gridolee questioned.

"They have a commander, lieutenant." Belmaeda quickly stated. "Bare in mind their markings." Gridolee looked closely and noticed the all eight of the grunts were marked with the purple bar of the Mirratord. His shock was apparent to everyone, and soon every elite and grunt aboard the Life and Sacrifice was watching the Mirratord grunts waddle to the front of the strike team. As the small band of grunts approached the group, one of them seemed to stand taller then the others and carried himself proudly, not nervous or timid. He moved with an awkward swiftness that left everyone, including the humans, with odd looks on their faces. His black armor was decorated with odd unggoy symbols of ancient times and nearly every grunt that saw him wanted to come closer to him. He immediately gained the attention of every stationed grunt aboard the Life and Sacrifice and they all feverishly pressed closer toward him, but kept a respectable distance.

Belmaeda stepped forward and nodded his head toward the highly decorated grunt that approached him. Although the grunt was a few inches taller then the rest he was still tiny compared to the massively tall elites.

Belmaeda showed much respect to the tiny creature and stated, "Sergeant, we can begin the inspection, but I doubt that we will find any brutes amongst this crew."

"Sergeant?" Gridolee roared in disapproval. "My mentor, please tell me you do not take orders from this grunt?" Belmaeda looked at Gridolee with an eye that could have torn his very soul from his body, but he held his peace. He stepped closer to Gridolee and stiffened his posture to appear taller then the young lieutenant.

"You have gained a ranking that is higher then my own, but there is much you can not understand in your youthful ways, Gridoloee." Belmaeda sternly stated. "It shames me that you would disrespect a fellow officer that has earned the rank of sergeant. Show the proper respect for Sergeant Palab."

"He no need to." Palab stated in the familiar muffled tone of his methane re-breather. The grunt stepped around Belmaeda and looked up at Gridolee. "Me no have nothing to prove to him. Take us to captain, there is much that must be discussed."

Gridolee showed no respect to the grunt sergeant before him, ignoring him completely.

Eric stepped beside Gridolee and addressed Palab. "Sergeant, I'm third in command of the Life and Sacrifice, because of our unusual partnership. I'll take you and your squad to the bridge. But I have to agree with Gridolee, a grunt in command is fairly odd."

"Me know, me deal with it everywhere." Palab returned. He looked to Belmaeda and quickly began to issue orders. "Squad will stay and check ship. Belmaeda, divide team, basic deck by deck search. Station guards at phantoms and radio if there are troubles."

"Sir, you should not venture alone." Belmaeda calmly replied. "These elites are not aware of your status, and will not treat you with the proper respect you have earned."

"Me be fine." Palab returned as he began to waddle toward the landing deck exit. "Me must earn respect, not have bodyguard everywhere me go."

"As you command, sir." Belmaeda stated softly. His concern for Palab was once again tossed aside. He waited until Palab and the human Sergeant left the landing deck and he quickly turned to the other strike team members. "You heard the Sergeant and his words are the law. Form standard teams of three grunts and two elites. Leave no crate unturned, and open every ammo bin. Nothing foreign must be allowed near our home. The treachery of the prophets knows no limit." The squad quickly divided, but the spec ops grunts remained at the phantoms as the guards. The humans watched quietly as the group searched every container on the landing deck, including their own supplies, but they were ordered not to interfere.

Belmaeda approached Gridolee, scornfully glaring at him and began to rebuke him in their native tongue. "As your mentor, I am ashamed. It was my recommendation to the elders that granted you the privilege of joining the Mirratord, despite their warnings of your aggression. Your skill has served this ship well, as is noted by your rank, but that does not make you better then any other creature. I taught you to respect any and all creatures, either friend or foe, but your actions today have not only shamed you, but shamed me as well."

"Forgive me, my mentor." Gridolee sulked. "I agree that I am not the warrior you have trained me to be, but I did not mean to bring shame to your teachings."

Belmaeda sighed and placed his hand upon the young warrior's massive shoulder. "You are young, Gridolee, and you have not seen death on the scale that I have. Your entire service has been aboard ships, but if you had ground experience you would know the sacrifices the grunts have made toward our cause. But you are not alone. There are countless others that see them the way you do."

"My mentor, what has given this grunt such respect within your eyes?" Gridolee questioned.

"That grunt is a descendent of a long line of grunt leaders." Belmaeda replied as he walked toward a nearby container. "The last of his lineage to lead the grunts was killed by the last Arbiter, and since then his bloodline has been carefully watched."

"The last Arbiter?" Gridolee pondered. "If I recall my Mirratord studies correctly, the last Arbiter died of his injuries during the Grunt Rebellion, which was lead by the King of the Grunts."

"Yes." Belmaeda stated. "Palab is a direct descendent of the king's bloodline. And more importantly, his skill at combat is bested only by the Major, but I believe even the Second would have trouble defeating Palab."

"You believe that this grunt could defeat Simyaldee in combat?" Gridolee questioned with a doubtful chuckle. "I find that hard to believe."

"You can ask the Second when we land, but he will tell you the same." Belmaeda replied. "Remember, the last Arbiter eventually died of his injuries from fighting the last grunt King. The grunt king was ferociously formidable in battle."

"Then what you are saying is that this grunt is the Messiah that the grunts have been waiting for." Gridolee added with annoyed whim. "The legendary grunt that will unite them and take them home."

"Yes, he is that grunt." Belmaeda stated. He pried open a human cargo container and began to look through its contents as he averted his attention back to his assignment. Gridolee simply smirked at the foolishness of his ageing mentor. How could any elite, let alone a member of the Mirratord, ever obey the orders of a creature that was clearly inferior?

Eric and Palab paced themselves toward the central passageway of the ship. To Eric's caution, he mentally noted the actions of every grunt that came near. They followed from a distance but seemed curiously drawn toward the grunt Sergeant. They arrived at the conveyor system which ran the length of the ship and Palab stepped on the glowing conveyor without delay. Eric followed closely but watched as several grunts continued to follow them. As they sped down the corridor on the purple light Eric found that it was a good chance to speak with the Sergeant.

"Sergeant Palab, why are the grunts following you like this?"

Palab turned and saw dozens of grunts following them along the conveyor, but did not seemed surprised by the sight. "They follow to protect me."

"Protect you from the elites?" Eric continued to question.

"Yes, and any threat." Palab answered bluntly.

"So why do they seem afraid of you?" Eric questioned as he observed the trailing grunts. "In order to protect you, I assume they would want to be somewhat closer."

"Me strong, not die easy. They help if need to." Palab stated simply. Eric and Palab arrived at the main ramp to the command deck and stepped clear of the conveyor. Waiting at the command deck door was Melanie and Rose.

"Sir, I've been getting reports from all over the ship." Melanie stated. "These elites are pretty methodical in their search. They even want access to our Pelicans."

"That might pose a problem." Eric stated calmly as the group began to walk toward the command deck. "I never told the captain of our main cargo. He won't be happy to know we have it, and if those elites find it first, things may get ugly."

"How do you want to handle this?" Melanie added as she continuously looked at the little grunt walking at her side.

"I'll speak to the Captain and Sergeant Palab here in private." Eric stated. "Surely they'll understand."

"Sergeant?" Melanie curiously stated. "I've seen spec op grunts before, but a sergeant?" Melanie chuckled softly to herself as she leaned closer to Eric. "Can I keep this one? You wouldn't let me have the last one, remember?"

"Keep me?" Palab curiously stated. Melanie jumped suddenly, astonished that the little grunt was able to hear her. "Me not stay on ship, have duty to do."

"It was just a joke, Sergeant." Melanie chuckled. She walked along side Palab and rubbed his armor markings curiously. Rose also paid close attention to the odd little creature. "What does these marking mean? I've never seen them before."

"You weird human." Palab suddenly stuttered. "Why you want to know, or care?"

"Cause, I've always loved grunts." Melanie chuckled. "Despite the fact that grunts have killed many of my people, it's been my observation that you and your kin are simply slaves to the elites."

"Melanie, now is not the time." Eric sighed.

Rose added to the discussion by stating, "But Eric, she does have a point. I've seen how the grunts on this ship have been treated and it's totally different then what the propaganda news would tell us on Earth. I'd like to know as well." Eric simply rolled his eyes in frustration, as he pondered to himself how Rose and Melanie became friends.

"Markings are Unggoy." Palab cautiously stated. "It mean hero and leader. But most would say Messiah. Other grunts mark armor while I sleep. It great honor to have armor markings."

"Palab, how did you gain this honor?" Rose asked.

"Me kill many brutes in battle. Me not fear elites and brutes, me lead grunts to victory."

"You must be pretty good with grenades." Melanie laughed.

"Me good with grenades, but me also fight with these." Palab extended his left arm and the small protruding bone at his elbow suddenly extended outward an additional twelve inches. The dagger like blade was dense and very sharp and Rose quickly gave it a closer look.

"That's amazing." Rose stated with a quiet awe. "The full length of the bone must rest within your forearm. Then I would assume that your muscle reflexes can push it out or pull it in. It's such a fascinating natural weapon, like a dog's claw or a porcupine's needles."

"I've never seen anything like it." Melanie stated as she touched it curiously. "Does it hurt?"

Palab was shocked by the question, and replied as best as he could. "Sometimes." The humans where not as evil as the Prophets had told them, nor were they cruel like the elites. The humans appeared kind, but Palab could not let down his guard. His duty had to come first, but he thought to himself that perhaps he could find the time to learn more about the humans. Thankfully, the prophets were no longer their masters, they would surely frown upon talking to the humans, but Palab was beginning to enjoy their company.

"Are you the only one that can do that?" Eric suddenly asked.

"Me not know." Palab returned. "Me not see any others do it, but me think others can learn. When war over and all grunts go home, me show them how. Teach others to fight like me."

"That's so noble of you." Rose smiled. "I guess you really are their leader."

"If he knew what was really on your minds he'd run away." Eric laughed. "I doubt he'd want to be your pet."

"Yeah right." Melanie laughed. "I'm sure he would love to come home with me." Palab remained silent and stepped through the bridge door, as the two women giggled softly. "And his tail is so cute."

"Okay you two." Eric stated in his familiar commanding tone. "Enough kidding around. Ten-hut!" Rose and Melanie quickly dropped their banter and stiffened their posture as they paused next to the bridge door. Eric and Palab continued onto the bridge as Captain Domadree walked toward them.

"Where is the commander of the strike team?" Domadree questioned.

"Captain this is Sergeant Palab, he's in command of the strike team." Eric sternly stated, hoping that his tone of voice would show his seriousness. Domadree paused and looked to the little grunt standing before him. He then quickly looked back to Eric with a puzzled glare. Palab ignored the captain's confusion and stepped forward.

"Captain, until you ship is completely searched you and you crew will remain under my watch." Palab stated aggressively. Every elite on the bridge turned and listened as he spoke. "You ship belonged to the Prophet Regret's battle group, therefore you ship is very suspicious. High Council must be cautious."

Domadree continued to seem dumbfounded by the grunt, and he began to closely observe Palab's armor and mannerisms. Unlike most grunts, Palab appeared more confident when speaking to a high ranking elite, he showed no sign of cowardice or fear in Domadree's presence. Also, Palab's armor was marked with strange unggoy letters. Domadree quickly recognized the words as 'leader' and 'hero', meaning this grunt had accomplished a great deal according to his other grunts. But as he observed the armor more closely he suddenly noticed the purple bars upon his shoulder. The black armor nearly obscured the markings, but as Domadree peered closer there was little doubt as to what he was seeing.

"Mirratord?" Domadree suddenly questioned. Elder Bortello heard the words and quickly raced to the rear of the bridge. To his amazement, he also spotted the markings, but the elder also knew more about the unggoy markings upon Palab's armor.

"Me not know what you speak, captain." Palab stated as a clear cover up. According to Mirratord law, which he had just learned, speaking of the Mirratord in public was against the rules.

"It is fine, sergeant." Elder Bortello stated as he approached Palab. Domadee turned and watched as the elder approached his side. The elder seemed more astonished of the grunt then he was.

"Elder." Palab stated in calm tone. He then lowered his voice and whispered his added statement. "Lieutenant Simyaldee will be grateful you alive, but not speak of Mirratord now."

"No, we can." Elder Bortello added. "This ship holds secrets no longer. My Mirratord guards were needed to aid in the retaking of the ship. So we have nothing to fear. But I must know of your armor. There were others with such markings in the past, during my younger days. Tell me, is it true? Are you the king of the Grunts?"

"Me not know." Palab sighed. The attention he was receiving was not what he had hoped for. He so longed to be a normal grunt again, but he understood that only he could help the grunts find a better way of life. "Many say that me king, but me only want to help grunts become better. Not die in war for elites."

"Then the unggoy prophecy has come full circle." Elder Bortello sighed. "Sergeant, I must speak with Lieutenant Simyaldee as soon as we arrive on Dorenth." Domadree was suddenly taken back by the elder's show of respect by calling the grunt 'sergeant'. The elders have always been wise beyond their years, and their battle experience has earned them their titles, but to show a grunt respect was unheard of.

"How soon will we be able to dock, sergeant?" Domadree questioned. For now, he would follow the elders lead and show respect to the little grunt, but the elders actions would need to be explained.

"You dock at capital city once inspection complete." Palab replied. "Now we need to talk to human leader in private." Eric quickly stared at Palab, curious as to what he meant.

"Is there a problem with the humans?" Domadree questioned.

"Me not know, humans speak of wanting to talk in private earlier." Palab stated, repeating Eric's words from before. Eric sighed heavily because he wanted to be the one to approach the captain about the discussion.

"Yes Captain." Eric added. "There is something I need to tell you and the Sergeant, if we can speak alone. Perhaps Lieutenant Gridolee should join us."

"Very well." Domadree stated. "We shall venture to my quarters. Construct, please summon the Lieutenant."

"Yes captain." Siren softly replied over the bridge speakers.

"Private Peters." Eric turned to Melanie. "You have command till we return. Notify us if anything happens."

"Yes sir." Melanie saluted. She stepped onto the bridge's command pedestal and the elite command crew smirked angrily, but Domadree suddenly roared his disapproval to the command crew. They all lowered their heads in submission.

"What was that about?" Eric questioned.

"Respecting a superior means respecting a skilled warrior." Domadree replied as they exited the bridge. "My command crew does not approve of your second in command. That human has not shown them that she is a capable warrior. However, they will obey her commands because of you. You, they respect."

Eric understood. He knew that his fight with Gridolee was more then just a fight for pride, but it also gave him honor amongst the elites, something he was counting on if he survived. But Melanie had yet to show the same strength to the elites, and in the elite society strength and honor were the most important characteristics of respect.

The group entered Domadree's quarters and waited patiently for Gridolee to arrive. Eric walked around the room and took in the view. Amongst Domadree's collection of weapons and souvenirs were pictures. Eric couldn't help but feel some connection with the room's atmosphere. To the elite, this was as close to home as he could get. Pictures of what may be family or friends lined his walls, as well as dried skulls of many enemies he had killed in the past. One human skull also sat upon the collection, but Eric realized that perhaps he should ignore it for now, considering the magnitude of his discussion. Suddenly Gridolee entered the room and made his way toward the group.

"We are all here, Sergeant." Domadree stated as he looked to Eric. "What is it that you would like to discuss?"

"As I told you when we first met, captain, we had our own goal when we first gained control of your ship." Eric calmly stated. "The reason we had the AI uploaded to your Database, the supplies and the troops was because we were ordered to find any Covenant home world, sneak or break through its defenses, and eliminate them."

"Did your human leaders believe that one ship of humans could accomplish this task?" Gridolee sternly stated.

"No." Eric replied. "It was a suicide mission. A mission that perhaps none of my men would return from."

"I figured you wanted the ship for something of this nature, but why only one ship?" Domadree questioned. "The tactic is pointless. One ship against any Covenant world would fail."

"Like a said, it was a suicide mission." Eric iterated as he removed his hat and ran his hand threw is closely cut hair. "It was a one way trip. And that's why I wanted Sergeant Palab here, because his inspection will find the weapon we brought with us. On one of our pelicans is a crate, in that crate is the weapon we call a NOVA."

"Yes, the NOVA has been documented." Domadree added. "I see now. Your original plan was to infiltrate our world and destroy it, but at a great risk to yourselves. A noble sacrifice to attempt and turn the war for the human's behalf." Everyone pondered these words and Domadree quickly gripped his plasma sword but did not activate it. "What assurances do we have that you are not trying to deceive us now, and still trying to complete your mission?"

"None." Eric stated calmly. "But let me just say that Siren, our AI, is listening. I can easily give her the command to crash this ship through the blockade and drop the package onto Dorenth's surface." The group grumbled slightly at these words and Gridolee also gripped his plasma sword's hilt. "But don't get your underwear in a bind. I have no intentions of doing that. I sincerely want to assist in finding a way to end this war without anymore bloodshed between our two species. I am willing to jettison the NOVA from the ship. There is no safe way to dismantle it; we can only get rid of it."

"Construct." Domadree stated.

"Yes captain?" Siren replied through speaker.

"Even against the Knight and Piercing Arrows battle group, could you truly destroy our world?" Domadree questioned curiously.

"The Knight and Piercing Arrow is a formidable ship." Siren replied. "But my goal would not be to fight. I would simply divert all power to the shields, perform a slip space jump that would place the Life and Sacrifice at Dorenth's northern pole. From here, your planetary defenses would be weakest, and I would be free to remotely fly the pelican to the planets surface and detonate it. I have full remote access to the NOVA. If your elite crew of the Life and Sacrifice began to take over and eliminated the UNSC forces, then I would not risk exiting orbit, I would simply allow this ship to be destroyed in the resulting blast. Does this answer your question?" The elites sat in awe of Sirens words. They sat dumbfounded at how easy it would be for Siren to eliminate their home.

"Yes construct." Elder Bortello replied. "That answers our question."

"Relax." Eric stated. "I have no plans on doing this. I'll throw the NOVA away and it'll drift through space, posing no threat to you or your world. A show of peace." Domadree reattached his blade and walked to closer to Eric. Eric stood and glared sternly into Domadree's eyes.

"Once the weapon is gone, you will no longer have it to use against us." Domadree snarled. Eric smirked at the comment but showed no fear. "What makes you think we won't cut you and your humans down once we have jettisoned the weapon?"

"Honor." Eric simply replied. His words registered quickly with the group of elites and they all looked to each other in agreement. "I have no reason to lie to you, and I respect your kind. I've fought amongst you and against you, so I only hope that if I keep up my end of the bargain, you will honor yours."

"Very well human." Domadree stated. "Gridolee and sergeant Palab will accompany you. Once the weapon has been safely ejected into space we will finish the inspection and proceed to Jogrennilee." Without hesitation Eric, Palab and Gridolee quickly ventured to the landing deck and opened the highly guarded Pelican. One massive crate sat alone inside and the marines quickly pulled it forward. Eric slipped on his helmet and opened a channel directly to Siren.

Speaking softly he stated, "Omega 698, 912, 43217. Transmit." Eric looked around and made sure that no one was overhearing him.

"Ready." Siren stated softly into Eric's helmet com.

"The mail is delivered, hold it for me until I need it. Out." Eric sighed and thumbed his side arm as the marines cautiously opened the crate.

"Sent and received." Siren replied, and after a few seconds she began to softly speak again. "Response: The post office is always open, Black 965, 039, 811."

"Siren, delete any record of this transmission." Eric stated softly.

"Already done." Siren replied. The marines finally opened the crate and showed Gridolee and Palab the contents. The circular NOVA had ten long cylinders protruding out of its dark metal core. It was smaller then Eric thought it would be, but it was still an impressive sight to see. It nearly consumed the pelican's entire inner bay and easily towered over the elites heads.

Gridolee looked to Eric and nodded sternly, approving that he had seen enough.

"Close it up boys." Eric shouted. The marines quickly sealed the crate and four of them pulled the crate from the pelican. "Take to the airlock. Captain Domadree, angle the ship so that the port side landing deck is pointing away from the planet."

On the bridge Domadree replied, "Understood." The Life and Sacrifice brought its lines parallel to the planet, exposing its port side to the darkness of space. The ships distance was far enough that the planets gravity would not pull the crate back toward orbit and the NOVA would simply float through space, lost and forgotten. The marines and a few elites began to push the NOVA crate into the massive airlock. The door slowly began to close behind it as the marines and elites cleared the area, and suddenly it was blown into space. It tumbled freely and wildly as it accelerated out of view; engulfed by the darkness of space.

"Sergeant, we have completed the deck by deck inspection and all teams have reported back." Belmaeda stated as he approached Palab. "The ship is secure."

"Tell captain he can dock near capital city now." Palab stated Gridolee. "Send all clear signal to fleet and capital registration."

Belmaeda agreed by nodding his head, but Gridolee ignored Palab's statement and motioned toward Belmaeda as he stated into his com, "Captain we are clear to descend toward Jogrennilee."

Palab turned to Belmaeda and added, "Take strike team back to Knight and Piercing Arrow. Me stay here and go speak to Lieutenant Simyaldee as ordered."

"Yes sir." Belmaeda nodded as he began to gather the teams and load the phantoms.

On the Bridge, Captain Domadree and Elder Bortello spoke softly to one another as planetary transmissions began to flood their view screen. Once they were allowed access to land, the ship was able to clearly access the battle net and read all the information and reports that they were previously blocked from accessing.

"Much has happened in our absence." Bortello stated as they read through the transmission. "A new Arbiter, a grunt Messiah, and peace with the humans. Millions of our kin died during a battle on our very home, along with dozens of the elders, including Elder Barremee!"

"He served the high council well." Domadree stated. "I'm sure his death was an honorable one. Those cursed brutes will pay dearly for this treachery."

"The fault is not with the brutes alone." Bortello added as he continued to scan the reports. "The prophets are also going to pay dearly. It seems that the hierarchs have been planning this for quiet sometime. Much blood will be shed for this, I swear it."

"Indeed elder." Domadree stated as he read through the report. He then noticed the destruction of High Charity. His knees grew weak as he thought of his mate. Did she escape before its destruction? "They will all pay!" With a clinched fist Domadree roared his anger, but held his composure as best he could.

* * *

Spinning through the lifeless void of space, the large metal crate continued to speed away from Dorenth's orbit. It was now well beyond scanning range of any of the elite ships. As it continued true on its course a tare of light parted the stars as if it were a door into another universe. The light expanded and became wide enough for the crate, and its deadly package, to fit inside. The crate then vanished into the light and the door slowly began to close. Soon only a small sliver of light remained as it slowly faded and soon vanished, leaving only the stars to once again consume the region.

_**To be continued….**_

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_The character Palab, the Grunt Messiah, is based on another of my stories; "Stand, Five feet High." "Stand, Five feet High" will be posted onto once I go back and do some more grammer checks. It will be posted in its entirety.  
_---------------------


	14. Blood Oath

**Stage 14: Blood oath**

Dorenth  
22:03 October 24, 2552  
Capital City of Jogrennilee  
High Council chamber: Well of Honored Souls

The street lights flickered loosely in the night, as shadowy skyscrapers wailed in a gust of wind. The streets of Jogrennilee had never been so eerily quiet, as it was a city of bustling activity even at the latest hours of the night. Bonfires could be spotted throughout the city as corpses continued to burn. Tearful roars carried across the city as elite warriors mourned the deaths of their young and mates, while others pledged vengeance and spat upon the brute corpses.

A few jackals that were lucky enough to survive and hide after the attack failed, were quickly hunted down and torn to shreds by the enraged elites. Some of the jackals were imprisoned for information, but the jackals did not have any information worth sparing their lives. In one instance a jackal was taken out into the street, and in a barbaric display of chaos, it was beaten by a mob of angry females that had lost their young, and then ripped apart while it still lived. The elite warriors that policed the area knew that such an act was beneath them, but they allowed it to happen. When the angry mob had finished, the warriors cautiously ordered the females to their homes.

The signs were all around the council members, and they knew that order had to be reestablished otherwise the elite's honorable society would return to the old days. The days when order was merely a word, discipline did not exist, and the strong ruled with fear. Within the elite council chamber, order and discipline had once again been established. City officials from all over the world had been called together to discuss future plans and the words of the Arbiter last transmission. Each side of the stadium sized building was filled with high ranking elite officials and the members of the high council.

"We must act without haste!" An official roared from his seat. Many of the elites applauded his outcry.

"How can we act without the words of the Arbiter?" Elder Vornaldea stated from the central podium. "He fights this war, which is now well beyond our reach. Our duty is to rebuild and prepare for another advance from the brutes. The Arbiter has told us his plans, and the council has agreed. Earth is where the war will end, not here." The room grew quiet as whispers filled the room.

"How can the council condone this?" Came the cry of an official. "We have lost so much during the last twelve hours and you ask us to simply sit and wait? We won't justice and revenge! Let us send a message to the brutes and those that ally with them, let us strike fear into their hearts! I say we attack!" A massive roar of approval waved throughout the crowd of officials, as the small band of elders loosely looked around in concern. The blood oaths taken by so many throughout the day had only fueled their wrath, only a dead brute corpse killed by their own hands would appease them. Things were not going well.

"We hear your words, brothers, but you must understand." Vornaldea stated. The experienced elder had seen many battles and because of the death of elder Barremmee, the original head of the elite high council, he was now leading what was left of the high council. "Despite what you may want to believe, we have been severely weakened because of this betrayal. If we attack the brutes now, we will be defenseless on our home front. But this is also why our alliance with the grunts and hunters are of such importance now. Once we have strengthened our bonds to them, and rebuild the planetary defenses, then we shall seek the wisdom of the Arbiter and justly decide on our actions against the Covenant. We, the members of the high council, beg for you to have patience. According to law, only our military leader can grant permission to attack. And I am sure that the Arbiter will approve of this, but not until our defenses have been reestablished." The crowd once again mumbled to themselves, and several nodding heads amongst the group seemed to show acceptance of the elder's words. "Now I would like to welcome representatives of those we have wounded because of our shameful trust within the Covenant. We were fooled into hating the humans because of the prophet's teachings, and we have always misused the grunts. For those of you who are not aware of this, the grunts are the reason we are here today, and the reason Jogrennilee did not fall." Elder Vornaldea turned and waved to the two creatures at his side. Palab and Eric both stood and walked toward the elder. Neither wanted the spot light or praise, but they both knew that they represented their kin.

Every elite in the stadium bowed their head, and the high councilors all dropped to their knees in a humble display of forgiveness.

"Human." Vornaldea spoke from his lowered position. "The Arbiter has gone to make peace with your kind. We have wronged your kin for far too long in this war. Your hatred for us must be severe, but yet you came to the aid of our brethren aboard the Life and Sacrifice. For this we thank you and welcome you to our world. You and your ship mates aboard will not want for anything while you are here." Vornaldea stood to his feet and placed his hand upon Eric's shoulder. "We had believed that our war with you was a holy cleansing and only now have we come to understand that this was all a lie taught to us by the prophets. We can only hope that your world leaders will approve of the Arbiter and join us in our quest to end the prophet's goals."

Eric heard the elite elder's words and he clearly understood, but deep within him there was something yearning for him to grip a weapon and make one of the elites suffer. Eric did not have any ill feelings toward the elites, but he didn't want the elites to think that forgiveness would be so easy to achieve. He wanted to show them that there was a very deep hatred within all of humanity, but such an act would only make him as barbaric as the brutes. He looked up at the elite elder and realized that he wanted him to speak, to say something to those that had just bowed to his feet. Eric approached the podium and looked across the crowd of elite faces. He then pondered if a possible ally or a temporary alliance would really work out. He was onboard the Life and Sacrifice for three days and witnessed countless scuffles between the humans and elites. Luckily there were no deaths, but surely there was great hatred. Eric had also fought an elite simply to gain respect amongst the crew of the Life and Sacrifice. Suddenly Eric realized what he had to do.

"I'm not going to bore you with some political bull." Eric stated to the officials. "I'm not a diplomat, I'm a warrior. I only understand actions, and you have killed countless humans in what you believed to be the right thing. We fought for our survival while you attempted genocide on humanity. Humanity will not forgive you, no more then your warriors will accept us. But what I can say is that your society is built upon honor and strength. If my platoon wishes to gain your respect, then they must earn it. As their leader, I place myself in the position to gain that respect." The crowd began to grow restless at the humans words. Admitting that they were wrong was one thing, but giving a human even more respect then he had already received was beyond comprehension.

Eric continued, "You say you welcome us to your world, and that your Arbiter has gone to make peace. I ask you, will you respect us? Will the honor of the elites allow you all to respect a species that you have defeated so easily in combat? You have beaten us back for thirty years, forcing us back into our home system, and now at the end, when we believe that all is lost, you come to us with an open hand. I have studied your society, your actions, your classes, and I know that you will not respect us. To you, we are no different then the grunts."

Palab looked out at the crowd, knowing that Eric's words were true. "You are a pride filled society, and even though you wronged us, you will only see yourselves as better then us, not equal. But who am I to change hundreds or thousands of years of elite history. What I say is to allow me to earn the respect for all of my kind. Regardless of what happens with the peace talks on Earth, let me be the representative that earns humanities approval."

"Do you know what you are saying, sergeant?" Ship master Domadree stated from his seat. He sat beside Eric and Palab and was now pleading for him to accept what the council was saying. "The only thing that will give you this respect that you seek, is for you to take the trials." Domadree barked, but softly enough that only a few elders heard him.

"Captain, let him speak." Lieutenant Simyaldee stated from his seat behind Domadree. The Mirratord second grinned sharply as Eric looked back toward him. Simyaldee folded his arms and smiled. "He won't be seeking the trials alone." Palab then stepped forward, as if on cue from Simyaldee's words.

"Me too wish to earn elite respect for me kind." Palab stated as he stood at Eric's side near the podium. The crowd seemed even more anxious at the little grunts words. "With respect come freedom to do as will. With respect come better opportunity for grunts. With human, we seek to take trials." A roar of confusion and outcry erupted from the officials, but the elders new better then underestimate the grunt messiah.

"We cry for revenge and to rebuild our world, we do not have the time to allow these outsiders to undertake our most sacred of traditions!" A sudden outcry came from the officials. Vornaldea felt that this outcry would come, but he never imagined that they would seek the trials.

"Here me brothers." Vornaldea stated as he stood at Eric's side. The crowd slowly settled down to hear the head councilor speak. "We say that we want to accept them, to allow them into our society, and to have peace with them. But now we tell them that our traditions are not for them? This way of thinking is not acceptable if we are to establish piece between our kinds. The hunters have gained our respect through deeds, but the humans have not fought by our side until this day. The grunts have not had a leader until this day. This day is new, brothers. We must think differently. We must learn to open our way of thinking if things are going to change."

Eric and Palab walked clear of the main hall while the elites deliberated the request to take the trials. Beside them walked Captain Domadree, Lieutenant Simyaldee and two members of the Mirratord. They reached the main exit of the building and were greeted by an approaching phantom. A crowd slowly formed around the group, all wanting to see the new leader of the grunts and the human that had assisted one of their ships. The crowd of elites consisted of young males and females of all ages, all filled with curiosity. Suddenly one of the young males dashed forward and threw a small stone at Palab's feet.

"Grunts have no place in our ranks!" The elite roared in their native tongue. Palab didn't understand the elite's words but he snarled in disapproval.

"Take him away!" Simyaldee stated as one of his Mirratord guards grabbed the young elite and pinned him to the ground. "Such lack of discipline is unbecoming. What has happened to our youth?"

"Our young have been taught much differently then we were in our youth." Domadree stated while shacking his head in shame. "Truly this is more of the prophets' doing. Their teachings within our academies have greatly influenced the young, they do not uphold he old traditions of our ancestors. The prophets taught them conquest and battle, not honor and wisdom." Domadree thought of Gridolee and how he also showed great hatred toward all other creatures.

"You are correct brother." Simyaldee added. The gravity lift to the phantom shined upon the ground and the group boarded. Eric remained silent while Palab cautiously looked around, wondering if any other young warriors would attempt to stone him. "Sergeant Palab, please forgive the rudeness of the young one. He suffers from the teachings of the prophets. Our academies for the young will need to be evaluated before teachings can continue."

"Me understand." Palab replied as they reached the top of the gravity lift. "How long till council decides?"

"Hopefully it won't take too long." Eric added as he pressed himself against the oddly shaped chair. "But most political decisions aren't made until all the options are weighed. I'm sure the council will try to decide if we can be successful in these trials, and what the repercussions will be if we are successful. By the way, what are the trials, and what have I gotten myself into? I thought I'd just have to fight one of the elders or something."

Simyaldee smirked softly at the human's words and replied, "No sergeant Raynord. Simply fighting one with respect is not the only way to earn acceptance. In times of none conflict, and for our young to earn the right to join our military, we inducted the trials. It is our oldest tradition, once used to determine which of us would be the tribe leader, before we became civilized. We continue it today as it is our only connection to our ancestors. I recommended to Sergeant Palab that he take the trial, and show all elites that grunts are worthy of our elegance; as equals."

"Me see that you want elite respect too." Palab added. "Me say you take trails as well."

"Great." Eric smirked. He folded his arms and sighed softly. "So what is it? You seem to avoiding that piece of info."

"The trials detail a warrior's ability to overcome three major obstacles: agility, strength, and perception." Simyaldee stated as he paced in the center of the phantom. "For agility you will need to use all of your senses to maneuver through a series of complex and dangerous paths. Strength is the simplest of the test, merely showing that you can kill a Dabdough. Perception is the hardest part for all our warriors, and I can not tell you what it involves because it is always different."

"Sounds like boot camp." Eric laughed as he reflected on his first day of basic training at the UNSC facility in South America. "Is there a time limit to the trials?"

"Yes, you will have six units to complete it." Captain Domadree replied. "It may appear to be a large length of time, but most warriors can not complete it within five units. The trials are designed to push your mental and physical abilities to their extremes." Domadree suddenly laughed as he looked towards lieutenant Simyaldee. "But there was one who holds the record for the best time. His time was an amazing three and forty units. He was later tested again, some feared that he had cheated the first time, but his second score was only slightly slower."

"The major is quite the warrior." Simyaldee laughed in return. "No other warrior has ever come close to his scores. Unless you look back to the times before the Covenant, but even our ancestors scores can not compare to his."

"Captain Domadree, sir." The pilot stated over his shoulder. "We'll be docking at the Life and Sacrifice in just a moment. Your new registry number has been given to your command crew."

"Very well." Domadree replied. "Radio for landing clearance and have the dueling room prepared when we arrive. I will prepare sergeant Raynord for the trials as best I can. If the council allows him to take the trials, he will be ready."

Simyaldee replied with a nod, "Yes, I will do the same with sergeant Palab. However, I don't believe it will be required. He has served with us for quite some time and is familiar with most of our weaponry."

"What if we fail?" Eric suddenly stated.

"Failure is not an option, sergeant." Simyaldee stated. "If you fail the trials, you will most likely not get a second chance. Death is possible for a human."

"Do not underestimate the strength of sergeant Raynord." Domadree smirked. "I haven't told you this, but he did defeat Gridolee in hand to hand combat."

Simyaldee quickly focused and brought his eyes level with Eric's, "I see. Then perhaps you and the Demon, your Master Chief, have some similarities."

"I'm not a Spartan, but I'm not normal either." Eric sulked. He thought about Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan 117, and how he had landed on the Halo ring world. As an ONI operative he was allowed to read the Master Chiefs mission debriefing report and it was like something out of a science fiction novel, not reality. Now that the covenant knew who he was they insisted on calling him "Demon", and he struck fear amongst them all. In the end Halo had to be destroyed and from what Siren had discovered, the destruction of the first Halo was the precursor for the elites' downfall. The Master Chief had single handedly brought the elites and humans together, but for now Eric knew that he had to do his small part for the sake of humanity.

He thought of his earlier days and how he wanted to be a hero, how he dreamed of fighting alongside the Spartans and saving the world. But he was not a Spartan and nor could he ever hope to become one. Ackerson's Spartan III research had made him better then normal, and Doctor Smith's help gave him the chance to fight, but his dreams of being a hero died the day he watched Kim cry out his name in death.

As Eric exited the Phantom he saw the soft smile of Rose glaring at him from the landing deck of the Life and Sacrifice. He had almost forgotten how sexy she was in military fatigues. She saluted along with four other soldiers at her side, as Eric returned the gesture. She smiled happily to see him. Eric smirked in return.

"How'd it go?" Rose questioned, as she kept a respectable distance from Eric while in the presence of the other soldiers.

"Not sure yet." Eric replied. "We should know something eventually."

"It's a start, I guess." Rose replied. "Well I've got to go, I'm trying to learn more about those odd engineer creatures, and Siren's assisting me on learning more about the slip space drive and more Marine regulations. Permission to leave, sir?"

"Dismissed." Eric stated with a calm voice.

"Sir, we have the reports you wanted." Stated another soldier, but Eric simply focused on Rose. With a wink and a smile Rose ran off, and Eric watched her figure sway as she went. He couldn't deny her beauty, she was one of the most attractive women on the ship, even though she wasn't his type. Rose was slowly accepting the new life she had been given and Eric was finding that more attractive then the business persona she had on Earth, and he was slowly struggling with resisting her female prowess. The roles had reversed slightly and now Rose was seeing his side of things. Making weapons and improving Earth's defenses was a noble cause, but they were no longer on Earth. This time things could be different. This time he was surely going to keep his friends alive. This time he would do everything in his power to be a hero.

* * *

The Nest  
Asteroid field Quadrant 76.98  
14:12 October 22, 2552  
Covenant Space 

The shotgun flared loudly as another drone crashed to the floor. The spray from the barrel of the M90 left nothing of the creatures head. The armor clad warrior stepped back and reloaded the depleted ammo. Scattered across the floor were dozens of insect bodies, all killed by one foe; a Spartan.

"Ammo is low doctor." Kelly 087 stated into her com. "I advise a little more speed on your end. I don't think I can take another wave of these things."

"I have it!" Doctor Catherine Halsey stated with a stern sense of joy. "Fall back to the pickup point and I'll meet you there." A green indicator light flashed upon Catherine's monitor as she observed the Spartan's vitals. She slid her chair over slightly and activated the ships navigations system. From her workbench she had full control over the ship, a side project she had done during the long flights in slip space, and she set the course to the far side of the asteroid. She cursed as a strand of hair fell over her eyes. She quickly pulled up her hair, wrapped it into a bun and with a quick stab of a pencil she secured in place. She pressed several keystrokes on the terminal and a visual of the tiny asteroid appeared at her side. In front of her she saw the small outline of a figure sprinting through a covered tunnel along the asteroids surface. However, flying in the darkness of space beyond the asteroid were dozens of the drone creatures. "Kelly, you're headed straight for a massive group of them! We'll have to try another extraction spot." After a moment the green indicator flashed and Kelly stopped running. She sat motionless on Catherine's screen as the ship slowly approached her location. Catherine retrieved the data she had just found from the forerunner database and began to pry through the prophet's data with reckless speed.

"Of all the times not to have an AI." Catherine whispered. She suddenly found the layout for the asteroid docking station and peered through it quickly. She soon found a path that would lead Kelly to the far side of the asteroid. She uploaded the map and the navigation marker into a package and uploaded it into Kelly's MJOLNIR HUD. "Follow the path, I'll meet you there. You may have to free float for a while, but I'll pick you up." A green light flashed on Kelly's vitals and Catherine quickly changed the ships heading.

Kelly stood from her hidden position and checked the hallway to make sure it was clear. She then slung her M90 shotgun and slammed a fresh clip into her assault rifle. She turned a corner and sprinted several yards from the way she came. She then left that path by entering a larger room. The path lead through the center of the asteroid and Kelly noticed that her body began to feel lighter then normal. She soon realized that she was running through an incomplete section of the asteroid, and gravity had yet to be installed. She switched running styles as she recalled her zero-G training. She took longer strides and propelled herself with one leg. Her heads up display showed thirty meters to the new extraction point. The lights in this section of the ship were not functioning and visibility was reduced to almost zero. She switched to night vision and a super imposed image of the hallway appeared. There was still no sign of any hostiles on her radar so she continued to glide without concern. Suddenly she spotted movement ahead of her, and her radar bleeped red. She reached out for the wall and grabbed a small piece of outcropping from the asteroid. She planted her feet and waited for more of the bugs to show up. On cue three more of the drones entered her path.

Kelly ripped back the hammer of the assault rifle and leveled her aim. She leaned forward to compensate for the lower gravity and picked a target. She waited for the right moment, hoping the bugs would fly off, but two of the bugs quickly darted into the hall with their plasma pistols blazing widely. Their vision in the dark aided them but their aim was terrible. Kelly primed a frag grenade and lobbed it softly down the hall. The grenade floated much longer then normal and detonated in mid air, directly between the two bugs. They shrieked in pain as dust filled the hall. Kelly then exploded forward, her rifle ready to shoot the first thing that came into view. The flap of wings caught her ear and a drone appeared only a few feet in front of her. She kicked sideways at the wall and propelled herself to the opposite side, firing sustained burst into the fragile creature. The second drone then made its presence known and fired a few shots into Kelly's shields. Unfazed by the shots, Kelly turned and emptied her clip into the drone. Gravity began to increase and Kelly found herself once again running along the floor. She quickly pulled her shotgun from over her head and slung the assault rifle, and pumped two rounds into a drone that was floating near the ceiling. She didn't stop running and soon found herself able to move at full speed.

"Kelly, I have you on my visual, ten meters to go. Don't stop and don't look behind you." Kelly understood and winked her indicator to the doctor. She gripped her M90 with one hand and began to sprint at top speed. The constant buzz of drone wings were beating behind her in a mind numbing succession as random plasma bursts blazed all around her. Her shields began to drop lower and lower until the warning alarm sounded. A sudden burn of plasma echoed up the back of her thigh, but years of mental focus and training wouldn't let her stop running. She looked at her radar display and red dots were off the scale behind her. Directly ahead of her was a pressure door that she was eventually going to have to open.

"Doc?" Kelly stated in a huff.

"Trust me, don't stop running!" Came the reply. Kelly continued to sprint ahead, leaning forward with desperation and hopping that the drones continued to aim horribly.

"Keep moving but brace yourself!" Catherine quickly added. Suddenly the door exploded and the hallway filled with smoke and debris, but the smoke was suddenly blown out of the hallway and Kelly saw the blackness of space in front of her. She lost her footing but her forward moment continued to accelerate her forward. Soon she was floating in space and tumbled forward. She was then able to see behind her as dozens of drones began to fly out of the blown pressure door. They flew with increased agility in the weightlessness of space and even seemed to move faster. "

"Watch where you're going, Kelly." Catherine calmly stated. Kelly looked up and saw the dark hull of the ship and the cargo bay door quickly opened. She reached out and slammed into the side wall of the interior of the hanger bay. Her momentum was too fast for her to recover and stop herself.

"I'm in." Kelly stated into her com. The door to the hanger bay closed and the ship quickly accelerated away, leaving the drones dumbfounded as to what the human was doing in their home region of space. Kelly stood to her feet and sighed heavily as she began the short trip to the bridge. A sudden hum reminded her that her shield had fully recharged, and she recalled the wounds she had just received from a few lucky shots by the drones. Kelly knew that she would have to take care of the injury, but not until the tiny Chiroptera cruiser was clear of the asteroid field.

Kelly walked up the stairs spanning the three decks of the ship, and as her muscles shifted from the activity, she began to feel the plasma burns on her thigh and back. She wanted to push the pain out of her mind, but without having to focus on combat she could only reflect on the constant pain. Every step became harder and harder and her pace slowed as her focus waned. Generally a plasma burn would be of little concern, but Kelly had seen more then her fare share of action over the past few weeks, and her body was slowly making herself aware of that fact. She stopped at the top of the stairs and popped the seal of her MJOLNIR helmet. A hiss signaled that the contained environment within the armor had been breached and Kelly removed the helmet. Her hair fell to her shoulder and the sudden change in atmosphere made her perspire heavily. The sweat dripped into her eye and she leaned against the wall, dropping her helmet to the ground. The loud clang shocked her and she realized that she was loosing sensation in her fingers and her armor felt sluggish. Something was seriously wrong.

"Kelly?" Catherine stated as she ventured to the rear of the cockpit. She watched as Kelly struggled to fight the overwhelming urge to pass out. Catherine increased her pace, her shoes clanging on the metal deck, and caught the nearly seven foot women before she completely collapsed. The doctor struggled to hold Kelly's incredible weight but managed to pin her against the wall. Even in her younger days she knew that it would be impossible to support a fully armored Spartan. Thankfully, Catherine knew that the female Spartan had not blacked out yet, otherwise she would have been crushed by the sheer weight of the half ton MJOLNIR armor.

"Kelly, stay with me." Catherine shouted. She examined Kelly's eyes and watched as her pupils slowly began to rise. It wouldn't be long before she lost consciousness, but Kelly was fighting it. "I need you to move your feet and hold yourself up. I can't carry you." Catherine didn't receive a verbal response but Kelly suddenly shifted her weight and stepped forward. The doctor grabbed her by the arm, tossing it around her neck, and gripped Kelly by her supply belt.

Each step appeared to take forever as Kelly struggled in her mind to stay focused. Her balanced shifted sporadically as Catherine motioned her toward the tiny crew quarters. Catherine could no longer support Kelly's weight and she angled her as best she could toward the tiny bunk. The Spartan slammed to the floor, her shoulder taking most of the blow, and Catherine exhaled sharply. The doctor kicked off her shoes and tossed her glasses on another cot nearby. She struggled but managed to roll Kelly onto her stomach, exposing the main armor release on her back. After nearly thirty minutes of fondling the extensive controls and latches of the Mark V armor, Catherine was able to remove it and exposed Kelly's ghostly white skin. Uncountable wounds covered her super athletic figure, and Catherine covered the new plasma burns with biofoam. She quickly bandaged the wounds and fought harshly to lift Kelly's two hundred and fifty pound frame onto the bunk.

Kelly possessed less then five percent body fat, and her body was as solid as a sheet of metal. Her muscular form was not overly massive but well defined, and because of her years of training and battles she no longer had the normal features of a woman. Her breasts were barely a size B and her hips were practically none existent. From behind, you would think she was a man, but her hair and facial features more then made up for her lack of a figure. Her hair was generally cut short, but she hadn't had a moment to tend to it since Reach fell nearly two months ago, and now it hung wildly at her shoulders and gave her more of a womanly appearance then she's had since she was child.

Kelly opened her eyes suddenly and frantically began blinking. She motioned to pull her hand to her face but struggled as her muscles ached. A blanket was strewn across her and she felt a bandage on her thigh and back. It took a moment to register that she was no longer wearing her armor and she was completely naked. I sudden fear of not being out of danger crossed her mind and she motioned to get out of bed, but her mind and body had not yet fully synched. A burst of pain shot down her body as every muscle quivered from the act of trying to stand, and she sat motionless with one elbow propping her up on her side. Moving wasn't going to happen. She cautiously lowered herself back on the bed and hoped that the ship wasn't in any danger.

"Doc!" She shouted, hoping that Catherine was on the same deck. The ship was small, but still big enough that if someone was on the opposite end they wouldn't hear the bitter screams of a sick patient. The ping of shoes on metal reverberated throughout the room and Kelly quickly realized that her outcry was heard. She sighed in relief, grateful that the doctor hadn't ventured to the opposite end of the ship or her lab. She knew how the doctor would often go to the tiny lab she had setup on the second deck, and alienate herself from any contact. In that room she studied the forerunner data with a fine comb and tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The flood, humanity, the forerunners, and the Covenant; she desperately wanted to solve the mystery.

"What's the ship's status, ma'am?" Kelly stated sharply. The footsteps continued to approach and a long sigh exited Catherine's lips.

"We're in slip space if you must know." Catherine replied. "So I assume we are no longer in any real threat. How are you feeling?" She pulled her glasses from the top of her head and slid them smoothly across her nose. She then peered into Kelly's eyes with a small flashlight she had tucked in the breast pocket of her flight suit; it was the only clean change of clothing she had onboard.

"My head hurts a little, and my body is aching all over." Kelly stated as she peered into the bright light. "I'm hoping it's only a small case of fatigue."

"Follow the light with your eyes." Catherine stated abruptly. Moving the flashlight in a set pattern Catherine absorbed the smoothness of each of Kelly's eye movements and the response in dilation of the pupil. "Okay, well the good news is that it is fatigue. I think I've been pushing you too hard these past few days. Had I known the exact location of the forerunner artifact in the drone's territory it would've been much easier."

"I see." Kelly pondered. "And the bad news?"

"You may die if you put on your armor too soon." Catherine stated as she suddenly looked away. "The severity of your injuries from Reach is much more serious then I had at first thought. I should have given you more time to heal after we left that rebel base. You're body simply can't handle the strain of the armor right now, and it's my fault. Had I given you a few days of rest this may not have been a factor. I am sorry." A soft pause followed as Kelly absorbed Catherine's words. The doctor was never one to mix things and was sometimes coldly blunt. It was something Kelly had become accustomed to, but the idea of dieing because of her body was failing was unsettling.

"It'll take some getting use to, but I can fight without my armor." Kelly muttered as she gazed at the ceiling above her bunk. "I'll just have to be more cautious."

"You'll also have to stay out of the armor for a least a few days." Catherine added as she looked back to Kelly. "You were running around the asteroid belt for four days, and in total you've only had about six hours of sleep since we came out here. You've been unconscious for about three days."

"Three days!" Kelly snapped. "That explains why I'm so hungry."

"Had you not awakened today, I would have given you an I.V. of fluids." Catherine smiled as she turned and began to walk out of the crew quarters. "I'll get you some water and prep some rations for you. Stay in bed till I get back." After a few moments she returned with a tray of food rations and two cups of water. "Here, eat it all. You need the calories." Kelly slowly struggled to sit up and took the tray in her hands. She slipped a t-shirt over her head and began to quickly devour the food on her lap. As usual the rations tasted horrible, it was a package of synthesized proteins, calories, and vitamins shaped in the form of meat and vegetables. Despite the taste she devoured it quickly and her body was ever thankful.

"So what did you get from the forerunner database this time?" Kelly mumbled as she shoved an imitation peace of bread into her mouth. Kelly knew that she wouldn't understand anything that the doctor would tell her, but she found that Catherine usually thought more clearly when she verbally stated what was in her head. Catherine sat down on the cot across from Kelly and pulled her glasses from her face. She then twirled them in her hands as she thought deeply.

"I have been going over the findings for the past 3 days and something's not adding up." Catherine stated, sulking her head into her left hand. "The oddest thing that I've discovered is that everything in the prophet's database is also in the S-III files I found in the CASTLE base on Reach. ONI knows more then they let on, but they didn't have any information on the flood. So I'm assuming that they found the same information that the prophets uncovered, but not as much. The prophets have been studying the halos and the forerunners for a very long time." Kelly looked up and stopped chewing, pondering Catherine's words.

"Wait, so ONI knew about Halo?" Kelly asked with a mouth full of food.

"Yes, for at least the past forty years." Catherine added with a whim. "But what they thought was simply a ring world was much more then they had believed. I don't think ONI ever had a chance to study the ring fully, if they had they would have easily encountered the flood. But the data was void of anything remotely similar to the flood."

"So why didn't they study it?" Kelly questioned.

"Because it was already occupied." Catherine stated as she leaned back on the cot. She tossed her legs up and leaned back on the pillow, gazing at the ceiling above. "ONI found the Covenant ten years before the war ever began." Kelly stopped eating and gazed at Catherine with a shocked expression. "We didn't know their title until much later, but there is no doubt about it. The S-III files aren't just about the Spartan III program it also has some of the earliest recorded encounters with the Covenant. I neglected to tell you this earlier because the files were heavily encrypted, it took some time to unlock them, but as I sorted through the prophet's data I also began to see similarities in the S-III files. There is no mistaking the connections. If I remember correctly there was a statement in the file:

_We encountered a strange ring world covered with alien life. These creatures sailed the stars in ships far greater then our own. As we approached they were quick to detect us and faced us without aggression. We received a transmission from a creature named Truth. It took days for the AI to construct a translation subroutine. The creature asked who we were and what had brought us to the holy ring. We replied as best we could from the limited translation we had. All we stated was that we were travelers and exploring. They seemed as much interested in us as we were with them. But they kept asking us about foreign artifacts and ancients. We believed that it was an error in the translation and we told them no. They then wanted to know where we were from, we spoke of our home but not where. They wanted to go there, to see our world, but we told them it was not possible. Clearly we needed a specialist to negotiate with these creatures, but they became more and more adamant about our technology and home. We then began to ask if we could study the ring world, but they said we could not defile it. We became aware that they didn't want to be friends and we demanded access to the world. _

"That was all that was said in the file." Catherine continued. "I'm not sure if they began to fight or landed on the ring, but that encounter predates the battle for Harvest. I believe this info is only in the S-III file because it is apparent that we aren't strong enough to fight them. It appears that the Special Weapons program initiated the Spartan program because of this encounter. We were told that we were making Spartans to help circumvent civil war, and it never dawned on me that the MJOLNIR armor project was overkill against other humans. The Spartan I program would have been enough if that were the case, but they wanted to make them stronger and faster. ONI was preparing super soldiers for an eventual war against an alien threat."

Kelly sat quietly and listened to every word. The doctor had single handedly discovered a huge military secret, a secret that she was a part of.

"So if ONI wanted to make super soldiers, then perhaps they knew a war was coming." Kelly added. "Do you think we started it?"

"Not sure, but I do not think so." Catherine replied. "The Covenant's history is littered with tales of conquest and conquered worlds, and I'm certain they wanted to know where our worlds were so that they could find more forerunner artifacts. Smashing a small group of insignificant life would be nothing but routine for them. I don't think we started it, but we knew they were coming."

"So what does that have to do with ending this war, the flood and the forerunners?" Kelly questioned with an odd expression. Catherine looked at Kelly and ran her hands through her deep graying hair.

"I was getting to that." Catherine laughed. "I took a detour to give you time to rest before we arrived at our next and last destination. I believe the puzzle will be complete once we arrive at the elite home world."

"Whoa." Kelly stated in a shocked tone.

"I figured you would be happy to hear that." Catherine smirked. "There are numerous references to the elite Inner Sanctum. The elites uncovered it hundreds of years ago, and made it a part of their society. It is basically unaltered by the elites because they consider it sacred, but it is a massive network of underground structures. A virtual city built by the forerunners. We have to go there."

"You do realize that we're going into the heart of the Covenant Empire, sneak onto the elite home world and enter a location that they consider sacred?" Kelly stated with a whimsical laugh. "I won't even mention escaping."

"I guess I should mention that I also tapped into the covenant battle net." Catherine smirked. "The brutes and the elites are at war with each other and the planet is in shambles. We should be arriving within a few hours so rest while you can." Catherine rolled over and closed her eyes, leaving Kelly with still numerous questions.

"After all this time, I thought you'd be more interested in seeing the Halo ring world for yourself." Kelly sighed.

"The ring is simply a containment area for flood research." Catherine stated under her breath. "There's nothing there except for the weapon itself. Unfortunately my only real goal out here was to stop Ackerson's Spartan III development and bring them with us. It was a shame we didn't make it there in time, we could have used the support. But his researcher's notes led us on this hunt." Catherine softly mumbled as she drifted off to sleep, and Kelly placed the empty tray of food on the floor. Her muscles were healing already and she wasn't as sore as before. A few more hours off of her feet would be all she would need, but the looming idea of facing an elite without her armor was troubling. She leaned back against the pillow and tossed her hands above her head. She then closed her eyes a tried to sleep.

* * *

Elite cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
08:03 October 25, 2552  
Dueling room 

Eric dropped to his knees, exhausted. His breath was heavy and sweat poured from every pore. Around him stood several marines, but they weren't involved in his preparations, they only watched from the walls of the dueling room. If Eric had his way they would all be back on duty, instead of gazing at him, but this was their break time.

"You have grasped the basics, sergeant, but you still have much to learn." Gridolee stated as he lurked around Eric. His single bladed plasma swords glowed in his hands as Gridolee patiently waited for Eric to make his next move. Even though he was exhausted and showed no signs of continuing the fight, Gridolee was not going to let his guard down.

"Sergeant, you must wield the dual blades as if they were a part of you." Domadree stated from the side. "Unlike the heavier energy sword, the single blade is designed for agility. It is much lighter and twice as sharp, but it lacks the force of the other blade. Using it is best for you, but you must not think of it as merely an offensive weapon. Use it as both offense and defense." Eric inhaled deeply and stood to his feet. The single bladed plasma sword sat firmly in his hand and he rolled the blade so that it would rest closely to his for arm.

"Ah, yes sergeant." Domadree added with a smirk. "The M'ecron style is an excellent defensive stance. It allows you to defend as well as attack swiftly. It is the most easily taught and frequently used style of the Mirratord." Eric had no idea as to what the captain meant, but the way he was holding the blade simply felt natural. The hilt of the blade rested nicely in the palm of Eric's hand and the energy blade flowed from the lower end of the hilt and ran the length of his forearm. In both hands Eric felt as though the blades would sear against his own skin, but amazingly the gauntlets he wore prevented the blades from coming within three inches of arms.

Gridolee suddenly exploded forward, his aggressive style showing no hesitation. He lunged with his left blade spinning in an almost complete revolution, exposing his back. Eric raised his left arm to block Gridolee's attack. The swords sparked as they collided. Gridolee's massive strength jolted Eric's balance slightly and he planted his right foot to absorb the blow. Eric then swung his right handed blade at Gridolee's back. Without warning and with blinding speed Gridolee rotated his right arm in a right spinning arc, and slammed his blade into Eric's. As Gridolee followed through on the spin he kicked out with his left hoof and rammed it into Eric's chest. Eric rolled backwards, tumbling head over heals but planted his foot and stood upright. His chest hurt fiercely but luckily Gridolee was holding back, slightly.

This was not the elite he fought three days ago. This Gridolee was cunning and skilled with the blade in his hands. The monster without self control, that violently struck out with reckless intent, and seemed to have no self control in battle was not present. This Gridolee seemed poised and deadly.

"He baited you, sergeant." Domadree nodded. "The move he performed was a three step attack. It is very aggressive and hard to defend against if you are not prepared. By exposing his back he gave you a target, a target that most can not ignore. The follow through is not delayed, but it all happens in one swift motion; spin opposite with the left, upon contact reverse with the right and counter with a kick. Only the best can defend against this strike. Consider yourself most fortunate that you were able to avoid serious harm."

Eric shook his head in frustration. Hand to hand combat was one of his specialties and guns was what he was best at, but the sword dueling was neither. It combined an almost surreal dance quality with a combination of balance, speed, and patience. He had to mentally picture his move before he could try anything, but Gridolee didn't give him a chance to think. Gridolee was once again swinging at him. Eric dodged the first strike, and blocked the second with the left blade. Another strike came from the right, and Eric shuffled to his left.

"You can not think, sergeant." Domadree roared. The captain watched every move Eric made an analyzed them before Eric could react. Domadree could clearly see everything Eric was going to do, and so could Gridolee. "Stop thinking about how to move, sergeant Raynord! React as if you already know what you will do!" Eric feverishly blocked Gridolee's swings as best he could. If it weren't for the augmentation to his muscles there would be no way for him to block or avoid Gridolee's blades. He was barely keeping up with the massive elite's speed, and suddenly his feet were kicked out from under him. Gridolee had extended his foot and tripped him while he tried to block a swing. Determination filled his mind and Eric struggled not to fall. He adjusted his balance with his left hand and planted his feet firmly. He raised his right arm to defend himself from Gridolee but the fatal move had been delivered. Eric's eyes grew with confusion as he looked down his nose at Gridolee's blade resting at his neck.

"When you are falling, sergeant, never try to get back up until you have cleared your opponents reach." Domadree sighed. He walked out into the middle of the floor as he watched the other humans in the room groan and mumble amongst themselves. They were clearly upset that their leader had been so easily defeated, but the captain understood much more then they could.

"You did well, sergeant." Gridolee stated as he powered down his blade. "For a human, that is."

"I did well?" Eric questioned sarcastically. "I've been doing this for four hours and I haven't come close to touching you."

"Did you honestly believe that you could best a Mirratord warrior in only one training session?" Domadree stated as he came closer. "Gridolee is the youngest of us, and has been fighting with the single blade for ten of your years. The fact that you were able to defend yourself so well was remarkable."

"Indeed." Gridolee added. "There were moments when I was sure I could strike the final blow, but you defended yourself well." Eric squeezed the hilt of the blades tightly and the blades powered down. He then dropped them into his pockets and sat on the floor in exhaustion.

"I guess I didn't think of it that way." Eric stated as he rubbed his chest. The kick from earlier was still aching slightly.

"Captain, Sergeant Raynord, we have received word from Jogrennilee." Siren stated over the dueling room intercom. "The council and the planetary officials have agreed to let them take the trials. Preparations have already begun within the Inner Sanctum, and they will be ready to receive the 'Prospects' in four units."

"Excellent." Domadree stated. "It would appear that the council understands the importance of having the human's full allegiance."

"Siren, how long is four units?" Eric questioned as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Four hours, three minutes and forty two seconds, according to Dorenth's revolution around the sun." Siren returned sharply. "Think of it as Sangheili time."

"Fine." Eric sighed. "Smart ass AI's."

"Well, I love you too, sergeant." Siren giggled. "I figured you would like to rest before the trials begin. You'll have time for only two hours of sleep."

"Fine." Eric sighed again. "I'll curl up in the nearest corner I can find. Wake me when it's time to go."

"I suggest the amphitheater." Siren suddenly stated as Eric approached an empty area of the Dueling room. "It's quieter and the benches provide better back support. It's only two corridors away."

"Fine." Eric continued to sigh as his exhaustion began to dictate his words. He walked from the room as Domadree and Gridolee ventured toward the bridge, speaking in their native tongue. Eric soon found himself yawning as he entered the amphitheater. Numerous soldiers, grunts and ODST were scattered around, resting and not bothering each other. The lights were set to low, and he could not identify any faces amongst the crowd. Most of the marines and ODST sprang to their feet as Eric passed them, realizing who he was. He waved them off, signaling for them to continue whatever it was they were doing. He found an empty spot near the stage and crashed onto the bench. It only took a minute for him to drift off to sleep, snoring softly.

The stage holographic generator hummed so softly that only a close group of marines heard it, but they paid it no heed. Siren's image suddenly appeared at the edge of the stage. The hologram doppelganger of the artificial intelligence smiled softly as she approached the sleeping sergeant. With a soundless gesture that only reflective light can create, Siren sat near Eric's head. With her right hand she motioned over him, rubbing him but unable to feel or be felt. She smiled softly as she gazed at the back of his head. Simple wants filled her virtual mind as she waved her hands over him. To be able to smell him, to feel him, to feel his touch, and to hold him was all she could process at that moment; to be human again.

"I still remember." Siren smirked. Her smile slowly left her face and she frowned mournfully. "I remember it all."

Someone was coming. Siren's sensors alerted her to one of her preset warnings, and in the flash of a millisecond she vanished without a trace. The door to the amphitheater opened as the holographic generator powered down. Through the door Rose walked into the room. Looking around at the silhouette images of marines, grunts and ODST. Her eyes then spotted the motionless lump of a body lying at the base of the amphitheater. She quickly, but quietly, approached and sat next to Eric. Rose wanted to lye next to him, but that would be impossible on the small cramped bench. So she decided to sit next to him, but not touch him, fearing that she may awaken him from his slumber. She knew that he needed the rest, because Melanie had told her about the council allowing him and the grunt to take the trials. Rose simply leaned back and closed her eyes, letting Eric sleep.

In the cold emptiness of digital information, Siren's presence sat quietly. Using one of the many relay conduits aboard the ship she was able to create numerous virtual monitors within her own subroutine. This allowed her to see anything and everywhere around the ship, but for now she only cared to stare at Eric. Her emotional functions began to run rampant within her and she was finding it harder and harder to control them. She created firewalls to slow them, subroutines to contain them, files to subdue them, but all were met with the same result. Her emotions were growing stronger and overriding her primary subroutines, and this lead to a surge of archived data flowing to the surface; her memories were beginning to consume her. She was slowly loosing the control of many ship-wide functions, and soon disconnected herself from the Life and Sacrifice's core functions. Had she not done that, she could have disabled many of the ships safety protocols, which would have endangered the crew. She isolated herself into a small subroutine that she could use to safely monitor her actions and not interfere with the ship, but she still allowed herself access to one ship function; the visual of Eric and Rose sitting on the bench in the amphitheater.

A sudden image flashed before Siren's virtual eyes. The image was an old memory from when she was alive, at a party, Eric and Rose were sitting on a bench and talking, but there was another person there in the shadows of the night watching, listening and crying. Siren wanted to purge the memory from her database, feeling that it was pointless data not needed by a virus form AI. But with every attempt to expunge the memory, she instinctively created a backup. She attempted it a thousand times in a millisecond, but the memory continued to return. Another hundred thousand attempts and the memory still remained. The pain, the fear, the loss of control swelled within her small subroutine and she realized she had to expand and go beyond the space she had created for herself. Larger subroutines were created, stored, and cached. The process repeated millions of times before she realized that she was actively pouring her data back into the covenant systems. She wanted help, she wanted someone to hear her and help her; she was afraid. Her emotions were gaining control, pushing aside every program, failsafe, and directive she had. And suddenly it stopped.

"I still remember." Siren stated to herself. After verifying that the threat was indeed gone, she began to run a self test on her data files, programs, memory and subroutines. Everything appeared to be running normally again and she once again regained control of the ship's core systems. The image of Eric and Rose appeared in a memory module and she watched it closely, but didn't allow it to affect her.

In the amphitheater, Rose sat quietly with her eyes shut and pondered her own inner thoughts.

"I… still …. Remember." The staggering voice loudly stated from the room's intercom system. Eric was startled awake and Rose blankly stared at the holographic image that suddenly appeared in the center of the stage. Eric looked at Rose in shock of her presence, but then looked to see what she and the others in the amphitheater were staring at.

Upon the stage was a circular hologram of a couple sitting on a park bench at night. The young couple laughed softly at each other and the image repeated several times before it suddenly faded.

"That was us." Rose softly whispered to Eric. "Oh my God, that was us." Eric blankly stared at the stage, partially trying to realize if he was dreaming or awake. He then looked at Rose and saw that her blank expression was almost that of someone who had seen a ghost. He wanted to question why a video recording of him and Rose was playing on the stage, but then he recalled the timing of the event.

"That was after the game, your freshman year." Eric stated quizzically.

"Oh my God Eric." Rose shockingly returned. "Siren is…"

"If you're awake, Sergeant, you should at least get ready for departure." Siren suddenly stated over the room intercom, cutting Rose's statement short. "Even though you still have two hours of rest left, it would probably be better to arrive early and not keep the elite's waiting."

"I guess so." Eric replied. "Tell Private Williams to meet me at the landing deck, prepped for dust off."

"Yes sergeant." Siren replied.

"But Eric." Rose suddenly began to address Eric but once again Siren cut in.

"Chief Warrant Santos, there are several more marine protocols I'd like to discuss with you in your quarters." Siren stated. Eric climbed the ramp to the main exit and quickly departed the room. Rose gave chase, but Siren delayed the door from opening. Frustration quickly began to fill Rose and she kicked the door. The door finally parted but Eric was no where to be found. "I'll speak with you in your quarters, Chief Warrant." Siren stated in the hallway comm. Rose sighed in anger and stormed to her room.

"You're her, aren't you?" Rose shouted as the door to her room closed behind her. She feverishly paced around the room in boiling anger. "How the hell could ONI do this to you?"

"ONI can do whatever they want." Siren softly replied. "They practically run the UNSC, and there are very few laws about copying a corpse's neural pathways, especially if that corpse is a soldier that was listed as KIA in the UEG database."

"I mean, I got the subtle clues from Melanie's story, and what you told me when we first met about how you died on Troy." Rose stormed. "But that image was a memory from when Eric and I were in college. Only three people on this ship could possible have been there; me, Eric or Melanie. I doubt that Melanie had anything to do with that picture on the stage so that leaves only a few other possibilities. Your one of Eric's other friends from the after party that night."

"You're right." Siren calmly stated. "But it's not important. It would be best if Eric and Mel do not know.

"That name, Melanie said it was something only her sister would call her." Rose snapped in return. "Oh God, Kim, what did they do to you?"

"They gave me a second chance." Siren replied softly. "A second chance to fight in this war. And as I stated earlier, it would be best if Eric and Mel do not know."

"Melanie is your sister, Kim." Rose stated in an emotional sigh. "She deserves to know who you are."

"No!" Siren sharply roared. "To them I am dead. I died on Troy. The emotional strain this information would cause would be dangerous to both of them during combat."

"What about your emotional strain?" Rose questioned.

"My… I… I am fine."Siren stuttered. "I am a virus program designed to infiltrate and control. My AI functions are top of the line. I am …" A soft whimper echoed in Rose's room and she blankly stared at the ceiling as if she could see where the invisible voice was coming from.

"Kim, it must be hard for you to see them and not tell them." Rose softly added.

"Don't call me Kim." Siren replied with an angry tone. "Don't call me Kim, don't call me Kim, don't call me Kim! My name is Siren, my duty is to end this war and I will accomplish my mission. Despite my lack of a physical body, I can find countless ways to end your life if you jeopardize this mission, Chief Warrant Officer Roselyn Santos! If you go near Eric again I swear that I will kill you." The thunderous roar from the speaker sent a chill down Rose's spine. She backed into a corner and lowered herself to the floor, continuing to blankly stare at the unknown source of the enraged female voice.

"Rose… I don't know what came over me." Siren stated in a calmer tone. "I am sorry for that outburst. I assure you that I would never intentionally harm you." Rose simply lowered her head and folded her legs into her chest. "Rose? Please talk to me Rose. I'm Sorry."

* * *

Captial City of Jogrennilee  
11:43 October 25, 2552  
Dorenth 

The phantom quickly descended to the ground with a roaring howl, kicking dust and debris in all directions. The elites and grunts, standing in the dust's wake, covered their eyes from the particles that filled the air. Palab and Eric were the first to descend from the gravity lift followed by Melanie, Gridolee and Domadree. They all stepped toward the group of elites and grunts, and were met with gracious applause from the grunts. The massive drove of grunts then revealed themselves, hooting and cheering with unrelenting enthusiasm. Only the high council and a select group would be permitted to watch the trials, but high expectations exceeded all that watched the mighty grunt leader approach the Jogrennilee tram station.

"Sergeant Palab, have you chosen your witnesses?" Simyaldee questioned as he approached.

"Me take me team of Spec Op grunts, and Belmaeda." Palab stated with a calm demeanor.

"Of course." Simyaldee laughed. "Belmaeda will meet us soon." He then turned to the Mirratord grunts and nodded for them to fall in line behind the procession. The eight grunts gleefully jumped from their perched positions in the crowd and joined the line heading toward the tram station. "Sergeant Raynord, who shall be your witnesses?"

"I choose Private Melanie Williams of Red Squad, Ship Master Domadree and Lieutenant Gridolee." Eric stated proudly.

"Very well." Simyaldee added. He then led the group up the stairs and into the massive tram station where more elites and grunts welcomed them with cheers. The Mirratord grunts at the rear of the Procession waved their arms in excitement at their brothers around the room.

The Procession of the Prospects walked forward and Simyaldee stopped the line. In front of them sat the white tram doors and a row of elites to either side. The tram doors parted and out walked the twelve honored members of the High Council. Their robes no longer concealed them and their mighty silver armor glistened in the daytime light. Upon their heads sat the R'uoke, the helmet of the honored. Its silver brilliance spanned backward over their heads in a magnificent display, with two protrusions on either side. The helmet was only worn by the most honored and decorated warriors amongst the high council. From this group of twelve stepped one councilor. His head held high as he approached the group. Every elite bowed at his presence and looked to him with honor and respect.

"My brothers." The elder spoke to the masses. "Today we mark the first trials of our rebirth. Free from the treachery of those from within the Covenant." An inspiring roar echoed across the city and Eric couldn't help but look around. It was then that he noticed that every elite, grunt and hunter in the city had come out to witness this. "For too long we have shed the blood of an enemy we did not know. But today, we make amends on two counts. First, to the human Prospect, step forward and accept this Blood Oath of acceptance." The Elder pulled a small blade from his armor's hip catch and the energy knife buzzed as Eric approached.

"Let it be known this day that the human, Sergeant Eric Raynord, has entered our society and we have entered his soul." The elder slowly raised the blade as Eric extended his left hand. The blade sizzled as it gashed across his palm but he ignored the pain. He bowed his head and every elite that witnessed the act roared in approval, stretching their mandibles wide as their bass filled the air. "You are no longer a human in our eyes, brother. For you are now honored as a member of the proud Sangheili race." Eric stood and placed the palm of his hand upon the elite elder's chest. He then stepped back into line as Palab approached the elder. Every grunt hopped and chattered with excitement.

"Let it be known this day that the Unggoy, Sergeant Palab, has entered our society and we have entered his soul." The elder slowly lowered the blade as Palab extended his left arm. The blade sizzled as the gash formed between his claws, but the mighty grunt Messiah merely squinted fighting the pain. He then bowed his head and every elite that witnessed the act roared in approval. The grunts also howled in unison and the drove of voices carried louder then the elites and they stopped with resumed cheers and hoots. "You are no longer a grunt in our eyes, brother. For you are now honored as a member of the proud Sangheili race." Palab repeated Eric's act by placing his left hand on the elder's chest and then stepped back beside Eric, grinning happily at the human at his side. The elder stepped back and another elder stepped forward, winking at Palab from beneath his massive helmet. Palab quickly realized that it was Belmaeda. Palab turned to Simyaldee and he smirked with glee.

Balmaeda stepped forward and spoke, "Brothers, we have lost many in these days. But we no longer morn, for we know that they fight on in the afterlife. From here we begin a new age for us all: the Age of Redemption." Cheers followed his words, signaling that the elites were truly free to redeem themselves of their previous misdeeds. "Now, with their Blood Oaths fulfilled, let this Progression of Prospects begin their trials. And no matter how they finish we shall know them as brothers. Let the trials commence." The honored councilors all turned and walked back into the tram to cheers and hoots from the excited grunts and elites. As the tram doors closed, taking the honored councilors, prospects and guests to the Inner Sanctum, one thought filled everyone's mind; a new future was indeed about to begin.

_**To be continued…**_


	15. Walk the walk, Talk the talk

**Stage 15: Walk the walk, Talk the talk**

Elite Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
12:00 October 25, 2552

Rose sat motionless on the floor and pondered everything going on around her. She had been threatened three times in the past four days, and she wasn't happy about it. First Wesley threatened to kill her for touching the crystal artifact, then the UNSC brass wanted to execute her for treason, and now she had been threatened by the mind of a jealous AI. She hadn't spoken in nearly two hours, but Siren would occasionally check in every few minutes to see if she was alright. So frequent were her attempts to talk to her that Rose had figured out the exact amount of time between each attempt; five minutes.

"Rose, would you like to know the status of the trials?" Siren stated softly, but on schedule. With a huff Rose stood to her feet and walked to the oddly shaped bed.

"You don't have to continue trying to talk to me, Siren." Rose voiced as she stretched across the bed. "I'm fine."

"You say that, but your tone of voice suggests otherwise."

"Fine." Rose snapped. "You want to talk? Let's talk, but unfortunately the only thing I want to know is the extent of your relationship with Eric." Rose stood up and folded her arms. She wanted to look into Siren's face so that she could have someplace to direct her aggression, but instead she simply gazed at random points on the ceiling of the room.

As if acknowledging Rose's mental plea for a face to look at, one of the video monitors in the room powered up and Siren's image displayed on the screen.

"I cared for him, nothing more." Siren's virtual eyes trailed to the ground so that she would not look Rose directly in the eyes. "Military protocol prohibits dating within the same branch of service."

"Damn that. You threatened to kill me based on memories from your past. I'm an engineer, I know system structure, and I know that you would not have had that emotional outburst if you only cared for him." Rose stood from the bed and walked away from the display, planting her hands on her hips. With a deep sigh she closed her eyes and calmed herself.

"He's an amazing man, he always has been, and I know how the girls in school wanted him. Being popular has its drawbacks, so don't tell me that you merely cared for him if there was more to it. Tell me everything Siren, I deserve to know."

"Based on what? You met him in your freshman year, you knew him for less then a year and you never went out with him. I served with him, watched our comrades die with him, shed blood with him, and fought beside him. He pursued you back then and you turned him down…"

"I had my reasons." Rose mumbled

"… but you think you have the right to know everything about him? Speaking of emotional, you need to do your own self evaluation. You, Rose, deserve to know nothing about him. Three weeks working together in that ONI lab does not justify learning his entire history. I may not have full control of my emotional sub-routines but I am at least willing to admit my limits. Have you ever told Eric why you couldn't be with him?" Siren's tone was once again fluctuating as she struggle to maintain control of her emotional stability.

"I had my reasons, and they were my own." Rose sensed the hostility in Siren's voice, but she wasn't going to back down again.

"Considering that we are in a war, don't you think it would be wise to tell him now?" Siren continued to question. "He may not live long enough for you to tell him later."

"I was recruited heavily by every major collegiate athletic department on Earth. My grade point average was perfect, and I come from a political family."

"Right. Your father was a UEG representative, Patrick Santos."

"My father was determined for me not to go to war. When the draft was initiated, the only thing keeping me out of the military was his political power and my performance on the field. Sports were viewed as a major civilian distraction from the war, and the UEG wanted all collegiate athletes to put on a performance. But then my father got involved with something and was killed, a year after I graduated from college."

"The speculation on your father was that he was supplying Governor Jacob Jiles, of the rebel faction, with weapons and ships. Your father was murdered outside the UNSC High Command courthouse facility after he agreed to testify against the rebels. He was shot by a man believed to be a rebel supporter."

Rose paced around the room and folded her arms tightly across her chest. The memories of the past rushed back into her mind and she detested recalling the torment she lived with because of her father's decisions.

"He wasn't murdered, he was assassinated. Needless to say that while I was in school every eye in the world was on me and I couldn't let myself be distracted. Eric was a distraction. He wanted a serious commitment, I just wanted him. You know? I never stayed with any one guy for more than a night."

"If memory serves me correctly, the rumors were that you were rather easy." Siren bluntly stated.

"I never lacked for attention, if that's what you mean. I wasn't easy." Rose huffed at the statement.

"Rose, would you like for me to pull up your collegiate clinical visits, procedures, and results?"

Rose gazed intently at Siren's image and stated, "No. I remember the checkups. I went because I wanted to make sure that I didn't catch anything. Better safe then sorry."

"I think we called you a whore." Siren continued to giggle.

"Funny. But that's exactly why Eric and I never got together. I liked men. I liked them a lot. Eric was different. He wanted me exclusively. I was a stupid kid having way too much fun. I cared for him and I didn't want to hurt him. I knew that I wasn't worth his time, but he kept pursuing me."

"And then he left for the war. Your performance that season set world records. You were a star, but you also had several encounters with the law."

Rose sat down on her cot and stared at Siren's image from the corner of her eye.

"I didn't care. My dad was able to get the charges dropped no matter how much trouble I was in. I was such a spoiled brat. But now that I've told you, how about you tell me what went on with you and Eric."

"I wish I could say, but in all honesty I only cared for him. I wanted him, but he wanted you. The funny thing was that he always said you weren't his type, yet he chased after you so blindly sometimes that he would ignore any and all other women."

"He really is an idiot sometimes." Rose added with smile.

- - - - - -

Dorenth  
Elite Inner Sanctum  
12:25 October 25, 2552

Deep beneath the surface of the elite capital city, four elites walked a dimly lit path toward a massive door leading into the outer caves of the Inner Sanctum. Behind them hovered a large steel cage, however the darkness hid its contents, but every elite knew what it was. Its eyes seemed to glow from the limited light of the cavern. It slowly moved in the tight confines of the cage and it shifted. The sudden movement startled the four elites at its side and they quickly took aim with their carbines. They approached the entrance to the inner sanctum and a lone guard stepped forward from his post.

"What is the meaning of this, watchmen? This female Dabdough should not be here."

The steel and brick walls of the cavern echoed with the roars of the monstrous beast as the elites pulled the cage closer to the doors of the inner sanctum.

"Brother, would you be willing to ignore what you are seeing?" One of the watchmen questioned toward the guard. "We are merely giving these two prospects a fair challenge."

The elite guard blocked the path toward the door, stopping the group from approaching.

"This is unacceptable. Only males are to be used for the trials, this is how it has always been. The council will not allow for change. And using a female will guarantee the death of the Prospects."

"Brother, would you have yourself continue to call a grunt your superior? I shall not serve a creature that is beneath me. Stand aside and act as though you have not seen any of this transpire."

"I understand, but your actions go against everything the council stands for. A female Dabdough running free in the Inner Sanctum would be a threat to the councilors as well as the Prospects." The guard pleaded to the watchman to not go through with this plan.

"I have faith in the honored warriors, they will be able to handle this beast, but the human and grunt will surely parish. This cage will not hold it much longer. Let us pass." The mighty female Dabdough shrieked from within its cage sending the guards scattering about.

"If the council is injured, I could not forgive myself. No, I will not let you pass…" The hiss of an energy sword split the air and the guard was impaled in the chest. The guard gasped, but the watchman gripped his throat, preventing him from screaming in pain. The watchman then grabbed the corpse of the elite guard and pulled him to the side. He cautiously looked around to be sure that none of the other guards witnessed the act. With a simple head nod he motioned for the other watchman to continue pushing the large cage through the door of the Inner Sanctum and into the training grounds.

"Did you have to kill him?" Another of the watchman stated.

"What I have done is for the glory of our future."

Spanning nearly two miles underground and as large as a city, the Inner Sanctum was a forerunner city built hundreds of thousands of years ago. Towers and roads crisscrossed the massive cavern, while a single light illuminated the top of the cave. This source of light was a combination of technology and geology. It was a massive rock that could burn with the intensity of the sun but did not produced heat. The walls of the cavern were not of rock and stone, but of advanced metals similar to those used on Halo. The architecture of the buildings and roads were similar to the layout of Halo as well. With strewn vegetation, and local wildlife added to remind the elites of the surface of their world.

For hundreds of years the elites have studied the Inner Sanctum and in times of crises they have used it for safety. It has always protected them in moments of great dread. It was a discovery that prompted great improvements in technology and the eventual alliance with the prophets. Only the families of the honored were allowed to live in the Inner Sanctum, but during the time of the trials the streets were emptied and buildings were closed so that the Procession of the Prospects could begin their trials within the Inner Sanctum.

Two doors marked the only entrances into the Inner Sanctum and each was guarded heavily, but because of the devastation above ground the guard's patrol was thinned. The doors were massive in design and engineering, easily able to fit the largest vehicles. The northern door opened and a white Tram sped down on an angled track from above. It had taken nearly ten minutes to traverse the path to the Inner Sanctum, but the prospects had finally arrived.

Eric and Palab gazed out the window and took in the view. The city was ancient, well preserved, and beautiful to the eyes. Trees dotted the city, grass plains lined the edges of massive lakes, and birds flew majestically throughout the enclosed sky. It was a world of wonder unlike anything Eric had ever seen.

Simyaldee stepped to the window beside Eric and Palab, "We have nurtured this environment for hundreds of years. When the prophets ended their studies we began to rejuvenate this land. Deep beneath the ground and protected by the honored warriors who live here, this is our heart. Since ancient times we have held the trials here, so that every warrior will see its beauty. It is the dream of every young elite to become an honored warrior, because the reward would be to live in this paradise." The tram came to a stop at the base of the city and more honored elders stepped forward to great the prospects. Palab and Eric stepped off the tram fallowed by their procession.

Melanie was speechless from the moment the tram entered the Inner Sanctum. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life. She walked closer to Eric and gripped his arm tightly.

"It's beautiful." She whispered. Eric simply shook his head in agreement.

The head of the elite high council stepped forward to address the group. Elder Vornaldea looked shockingly ferocious in his armor and helmet as he gazed over the Procession of the Prospects.

"Newest amongst the honored, is the seasoned warrior Belmaeda. Your linage has always been proud and strong, and I am sure that you and your mate shall bring many more worthy warriors into our future. You have fought bravely against countless foes and earned your place amongst the honored. Please, lead the prospects to their trial." Belmaeda nodded deeply to the other elders as he stepped to the front of the procession.

The families of the honored had long since cleared the streets and now watched from the windows of their homes. Eric looked around and could see the countless elite faces looking back at him from the windows of the buildings. He naturally assumed that they were the females and young of the elites, and his eyes were probably the first human eyes to ever see the elite civilians.

Belmaeda lead the Procession of the Prospects to the edge of the city, across a tiny field and then to the mouth of a cave. Darkness lay ahead and he stopped just at the entrance.

"From here, you will begin your trials." Belmaeda voiced with a commanding thunder. "You will be judged according to how you complete each obstacle, but be warned, though you will not see us, we will see you." With those words the twenty honored elders sprinted into the cave ahead of Palab and Eric, each of them activating their camouflage as they crossed the threshold of the cave. "When you enter this path the trails will begin. You may choose to go separately or together, but you will be judged individually. The procession will wait for you at the end." Belmeada turned on his heels and sprinted into the cave, vanishing before the group's eyes.

"Eric, I have bad feeling about this." Melanie stated. Four honored elites remained behind to accompany the procession to the end of the trail and Eric looked at Melanie with a soft smile.

"So do I." Eric laughed. "I guess that's why I'm so excited about this. Okay Sergeant, you want to stick together or go it alone?"

"We stay together as long as can." Palab barked through his methane mask. "If we separate, me wish you luck. But we stay close as long as can."

"Agreed. See you all on the other side."

"Good luck to you Sergeant Raynord." Domadree stated. Gridolee nodded his head in agreement.

Palab turned to the others grunts in his procession and stated in his own tongue, "For the honor of the Mirratord."

"Good luck you two!" Melanie cheered to Eric and Palab. With that, Eric dashed into the cave.

"Raynord, your Trials have begun!" Boomed the massive voice of an elite from inside the cave.

Palab began to waddle forward, looking as though he would have trouble keeping up with Eric but he suddenly dropped to all fours, sprinting like an animal and showing the speed and grace of the King of the Grunts. He crossed the threshold of the cave and vanished from site.

"Palab, your trials have begun." The voice stated.

Only silence followed. The group peered into the darkness of the cave waiting for some form of acknowledgement that everything would be okay, but all they could do now was to wait.

"Procession, if you will all follow us, we shall proceed to the end of the path." One of the elites stated. The group followed and they all boarded a nearby Phantom.

The cave was not as dark as Eric and Palab had first thought, but they still ran with caution. Palab slowed his pace so that he wouldn't outrun Eric and together they maintained an even pace through the cave. The sound of running water caught Eric's ears and he realized that it was getting louder.

"Me smell water." Palab barked suddenly. The sound of water was getting louder and soon became almost thunderous.

"It must be a waterfall nearby." Eric practically screamed. But without warning Eric and Palab began to feel the wind of compressed air being blown from behind them. The wind was misty and heavily saturated.

"$hit!" Eric cursed as he looked behind him. Palab had also realized what it was. The cave behind them was quickly filling with water and it was snapping at their heels. Eric sprinted ahead, dodging stalactites and boulders as he went. He was concerned about Palab and he quickly looked over his shoulder. In the quick moment that he had looked back he saw the incredible agility of the little grunt at his side.

Palab was rebounding from boulder to boulder and wall to wall with the nimbleness of a squirrel. His quickness was unthinkable. On all fours Palab quickly began to sprint, jump, and leap ahead of Eric.

"Hurry!" Palab grunted. "Me see light ahead!" The two of them could see even more clearly as more light began to pour into the cave. Eric extended his stride, ducked a low hanging rock, leapt a small boulder and dashed toward the light. The cave became narrower and Palab sat waiting at what looked like a dead end. Eric approached and they both looked up. There escape was in the form of a small tunnel that went upward nearly forty feet.

"Go!" Eric stated. "You'er faster then me, I'll slow you down." Palab grumbled something in grunt language as he was obviously too stressed to say it in covenant tongue, and then quickly jumped upward, grabbing a cave stone. He then navigated the stones one by one using his hands and feet. Eric jumped and grabbed the first stone, pulling himself upward to the next outcropping and planted his foot in the wall. Water quickly filled the cave beneath him and he could feel water soaking into his combat boots. He cleared his mind of the impending doom and focused on the tiny stones over head. He climbed step by step without hesitation. He could feel the water come upward toward him as he continued to navigate the tunnel rocks. Water rushed up to his knees and he pulled himself upward again. As he paused to grab the next stone water rushed up to his waist. He pulled upward in a sense of panic. Once again he had to pause to grip another stone and water raced up to his arm pits. This time he could only pull himself up from the water, but it still reached his knees.

Eric knew that his next pull wouldn't be enough. He looked up and suddenly realized he had reached the top. The water carried him the remaining foot to the surface. He rolled onto the top of the tunnel and exhaled heavily.

"You okay?" Palab questioned.

"Yeah, thank god. What the hell, are they trying to kill us?" Eric frantically inquired to himself, not expecting an answer.

"Simyaldee say trials hard. They not take it easy on us. We in new cave now." Eric looked around and realized that they were now in much larger cave. The water in the hole began to stop rising and eventually began to recede. The new cave expanded in two directions and high above them were thousands of tiny stones, similar to the one large stone in the inner sanctum. The stones illuminated the tunnel in both directions and Palab realized that they had a decision to make. "Which way we go?"

"Each direction looks the same." Eric looked at the ground, trying to find a clue as to which direction to go. "There aren't any tracks from the other elites, just sand. If there were any tracks the water just washed them away. Damn it, if we go the wrong way we could loose and hour or more from our time." Palab lifted his nose to the air, sniffing aggressively. He smelled something, something he didn't like. He faced one end of the corridor and the odor became stronger. It soon began to intensify and he spotted something approaching from the distance.

"Dabdough!" Palab shouted. He recalled that part of the trial would be to kill a native underground creature. However, something wasn't right. Without warning three of the honored elites appeared at Palab and Eric's side. Their active camouflage faded away as if they had been standing there the entire time.

"Damn it! A female Dabdough. What is it doing here?"

Another of the elites turned and faced Eric and Palab, "None the less the creature is here, brother. This creature will need to be killed before it can find its way into the Inner Sanctum. Hundreds may die if that happens.

The elite then spoke into his communicator, "Elder Vornaldea, the Dabdough in the cavern is a female, a breeder. We will hold it here as long as we can, but we will need assistance…"

"The creature approaches!" As the Dabdough raced toward the group, Eric could finally grasp why the elites had revealed themselves. The creature was monstrous in size, standing nearly thirty feet tall, and ran on four legs. Its skin was covered in armor like scales and horns. With a serpent like head and neck, Eric could only compare the creature to a mythical dragon of ancient Earth lore. It was longer then it was tall and its tail stretched nearly twice the length of its body. This Dabdough was a terrifying sight, not in appearance, but in shear size and speed.

"Prospects, flee this place. Without the proper preparations you would only be in our way."

The temptation to run was strong, but Eric wouldn't dream of letting the Elites face this creature alone, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Me no run, me hunt." Palab barked.

Eric looked at the tiny grunt at his side and could see the aggression in his eyes. Palab was hunched over on all fours, ready to spring forward in an instant. His elbow spikes extended from his arm and he began to snarl with anticipation. The title of grunt king was justified in Eric's eyes. He had never seen a grunt become so aggressive, and as the Dabdough approached the group Palab's feverish behavior seemed to intensify. He began to snarl loudly, scratching at the soul beneath his claws, and barking feverishly at the massive beast. Eric gripped one of the twin blades from his pocket and turned it on. The hiss of the blade registered with the three elites at his side and they all followed suit.

The Dabdough shook the ground with each step it made and roared as it watched the group in front of it. As it came closer Eric could see that its head was well protected by dozens of long horns, and its eye lids protruded slightly for added protection. Attacking the head would be unwise. It roared again as it stopped several feet away from the group. The creature had two dagger like fangs that extended beyond its jaw on each side, and several jagged teeth lined the gum; it was clearly a carnivore.

The elite roared, "This is no place for you, beast. We shall slay you and end your threat." Together the three elites charged. One of the elites ran directly toward the creature's head while the other two attacked from the sides. The Dabdough's elongated neck quickly snapped backwards as it watched the elites charge. It then looked at each of the elites with little concern.

The first elite approached, with a normal energy sword in its hand, and swung wildly at the creature's neck. The Dabdough responded by quickly swiping its front claws at the elite. With a massive cry of pain the elite was flung to the side of the cave. Its shields had instantly faded and the massive gash on his chest showed his gory fate. Death would come easily for anything that came to close to the creature's claws, but the other two elites attacked without concern. One of them scored a direct stab into the Dabdough's side, but the energy sword was not strong enough to pierce the creature's armored hide. The Dabdough retreated away from the sparking energy sword but quickly slammed its tail onto the elites head. With a flash, the elites shields faded and he dropped his energy swords from the stun of being hit. The Dabdough lashed out with its mouth, ready to snap the elite within its jaw, but Palab crashed into the Dabdough's head with his left elbow spike and sent the creature into a confused stagger.

Palab grabbed the creature's horn as it roared in pain and realized that its head armor was not as thick as the rest of its body. Using the numerous horns on its head, Palab slowly crawled closer to the eye, but with a whip like action the Dabdough snapped its head into the air and sent Palab tumbling across the cave.

Eric raced forward along with the last elite. Eric carried his single energy blade as did the elite at his side, indicating that he was a member of the Mirratord. Together they charged the creature and jointly ducked as a claw scrapped across their heads. They slid beneath the creature's body and stabbed upward toward the only unarmored section on its body; its underside. Instinctively the Dabdough leapt into the air, avoiding the stab. As it approached the cave ceiling, it rotated in the air and jammed its claws into the stone surface, leaving the elite and Eric gazing oddly at its amazingly fast reaction. The Dabdough arched its neck and roared at them in protest, but it didn't see the mighty grunt racing on all fours along the wall. Palab sprinted up the rounded cave wall at full speed and once he could no longer maintain his grip on the wall he leapt toward the Dabdough, grabbing its tail. The Dabdough turned its head and looked at Palab; squinting its eyes furiously. Palab dug his claws between the creature's armored scales and used them to hold on to it. He then began the slow process of crawling toward the center of its body.

The Dabdough hissed as it quickly began to crawl down the side of the cave wall, scratching at Palab as if he were a large irritation upon its skin. It then began to rub its belly along the ground, stopping Palab from getting too close to its unguarded area. Palab had to stop his forward progress or he would have been crushed by the creature's weight. The moment of hesitation was time enough for the Dabdough to catch Palab with its hind leg. Palab tumbled off of the monster's side and rolled across the ground as the Dabdough snapped at him with its teeth. Palab dodged with acrobatic style as its monstrous fangs came within inches of gripping him. The Dabdough hissed in frustration but suddenly roared in pain as it jumped away from the area. Eric and the honored Mirratord councilor pierced its skin with their single blades. The creature quickly looked at its wound and roared in objection. It then looked down the corridor as it heard something coming toward it. The wound in its side was not severe, but still the Dabdough turned and ran from the area.

"Damn that thing is fast!" Eric cursed. The elite at his side nodded as he pondered what made the creature flee. It then dawned on him as the ghostly image of several elites began to appear.

"Ah, brothers, it would appear that we now have a hunting party." He stated as several more elites deactivated their active camouflage. One of the elites quickly ran over and inspected the body of the wounded and dead elders, as Palab waddled toward the group with an exhausted disposition.

"We hunt creature. Me smell it, it not go far."

"What has happened here, Belmaeda?" Elder Vornaldea barked. "A female is never to be used for the trials. Only the smaller males are to be sacrificed for our sport."

"Yes, this I am aware of. We will need to speak with the watchmen when we have slain this beast. But I must warn you, this Dabdough is a breeder. She is quite old, and lethal. I have never seen one this big before, she is clearly quite aggressive."

One of the elders then stepped forward, "You have been off world for quite sometime Elder Belmaeda. This is perhaps the breeder we caught several years ago. A hunting party came across a nest in the east. They took the hatchlings to be raised for our sport, but of course we needed the mother in order to ensure that the hatchlings did not die. We have kept this breeder for many years and she has grown rather large. Perhaps it escaped."

"That can not be possible. The watchmen would have informed us if it had escaped. Perhaps another female wondered into the caves?" Belmaeda replied.

Elder Vornaldea rubbed his mandibles as he looked toward Palab. His mind raced with possibilities and he dreaded that this was perhaps not would it appeared to be.

"Dabdough are very territorial creatures. Another female would not come this close to our breeding grounds. If it did, the watchmen would have informed us. Contact the guards and tell them to hold the watchman until we have dealt with this beast. This Dabdough being here was not an accident."

Palab quickly jumped to the head of the group letting his nose guide him down the massive tunnel. Belmaeda followed closely and looked back as the others followed him.

"Let us make haste. Once the creature is slain we must still conclude the trials and make plans to deal with the brutes." The group of elites sprinted behind Palab as they pursued the massive female Dabdough deeper into the interconnecting system of caves.

- - - - - -

Chiroptera cruiser  
13:10 October 25, 2552  
Sangheili Solar System

The bridge alarms beeped wildly as Kelly and Catherine frantically prepared the weapons of the tiny Chiroptera cruiser. They new that there was little chance for the old and beaten up ship to survive any form of combat, but they had to be prepared just in case. The old ship had lasted the past month without encountering any covenant cruisers, and even its slip drive engine was barely holding together, but things changed as they made their approach toward the elite home world.

"I know I hate to admit that I was wrong, but I am starting to think that this was bad idea."

"Oh really, Doc, you think?"

"Seven more Covenant cruisers on approach from our stern."

"Counting the four ships dead ahead, that's a total of eleven. I really hope they're in a talking mood. One shot from those plasma torpedoes and we're fried."

"I hope this works."

"You hope? Please tell me you're kidding? I thought you said this plan was fool proof?"

"Truthfully, I think it is, but we don't honestly know how important forerunner technology is to the elites. I'm willing to share that information with them, but they may not care about the information I have. And besides that, we don't know if the elites were able to defeat the Brutes."

"The covenant battle net encryption changed, right?"

"Correct."

"I don't think the brutes would have taken the time to change their encryptions, doc. Only the elites would think things out that clearly."

"Unless the prophets are running the show, and from what I have uncovered about them they are just as smart and cleaver as the elites."

"Damn it. Oh well, better send out that transmission. I'm tired of waiting."

"… odd."

"What?"

"Look at this, Kelly."

Kelly leaned closer to her terminal and what she saw simply amazed her, "That's a UNSC encrypted transmission. I'm tracking it now. I'll be damned. It's coming from three thousand kilometers off our starboard side."

"Kelly, there's nothing there. I just made a second scan."

"I'm decrypting the message. It says; Stay calm Doctor Halsey, you are not alone. Red Squad has negotiated a temporary alliance with the elites here. You will need to speak to Sergeant Eric Raynord of Red Squad or Ship Master Domadree of the elite cruiser Life and Sacrifice. Do not, however, reveal that you received a transmission from us. Do as the elites instruct and you will be fine. Captain Monroe, out." Kelly fumbled with the controls in attempt to lock onto the source of the transmission but cursed in frustration. "I lost the signal completely."

"I've never heard of a Captain Monroe." Catherine fumbled with her glasses as she pondered the name.

"Where's the ship?"

"To late to worry about that now, we're being hailed."

Through the bridge intercom came the deep voice of an elite commander, "Human vessel, please lower your weapons and prepare to be escorted into orbit. Your ship will need to be boarded before you can be allowed to approach Dorenth. Private Wesley Williams of Red Squad is the only human officer available to meet you. Do you understand?"

"We… understand." Catherine began to deactivate the ships weapon systems and looked into Kelly's furious eyes. "We are ready to receive your boarding party."

"Excellent. We will perform a routine inspection and you will then meet with the Private." The transmission ended and Kelly continued to fume.

"I know you don't like this but we have no choice, we're out gunned, out numbered and apparently working towards an alliance, Kelly."

"To hell with that! How can we trust them? How can we be working with them? What the hell has happened since we left?"

"I am just as dumbfounded as you are Kelly. But if we want to get on to the surface of the Elite home world, this is a much easier way. My original plan would never have worked this well. At least now we don't have to worry about being killed once we're done."

"Still, peace with the covenant, or the elites, I don't like it. And what was the deal with that transmission from that UNSC ship? They knew who we were."

"One problem at a time, Kelly, our new friends just landed in the hanger."

- - - - - -

Elite Inner Sanctum  
Outside the cave of the Prospects

"Sir, we have just received a communication from our orbital patrols. A human ship has been detected." The elite approached Simyaldee with a deep huff after running from the city.

Simyaldee turned and looked at the elite with a puzzled glare, "Assistance sent by the Arbiter?"

"Unsure sir. There were only two humans on board, and one of them is capable of wearing the demon's armor."

"A Spartan?" Melanie questioned loudly. Simyaldee looked at Melanie and patiently waited for her to say more. "I don't know who it might be, but I hope it's the Doc and Spartan 087. We were actually hopping to find them before all the distractions began."

"They have made a request to land and speak only with Sergeant Raynord."

Simyaldee folded his arms and looked to the honored elders at his side.

"Interrupting the trials is not possible. Is it not better for them to speak with the Private we left aboard the Life and Sacrifice?"

"Wesley?" Melanie questioned with a doubtful slur. "I guess so, but it would be best if they were brought down to us."

"I suppose you are right. Notify for them to be brought to the Inner Sanctum. Gridolee, go to the surface and meet them."

Gridolee nodded his head and followed the elite back to the tram station in the city. Melanie could only watch as the elites walked off. She felt somewhat concerned that Gridolee was sent to meet the Spartan. His attitude seemed calmer but she still could not fully trust him.

In orbit several marines boarded the tiny Chiroptera cruiser, and as quickly as they could, began to lock down Kelly's MJOLNIR Mark V armor. While the elites watched in confusion.

"Thank you Private. At least now I know that those elites won't get to my suit without a fight." Kelly smirked as she inspected the BR-55 battle rifle. Her eyes gazed down the barrel as she fondled the scope and trimmed the trigger. She had yet to see the new rifle and was equally pleased at it, but she still wanted to shoot it to get an accurate feel.

"Not a problem, sir." Wesley replied from the back of the pelican. "However, I think I'd be a lot happier if you were in the armor. But I guess you have your reasons."

Wesley's eyes quickly scaled the massive women in front of him and he felt himself shiver. Even without her armor on, the Spartan demanded respect with her sheer size. Her marine fatigues could barely conceal the bulges in her arms and legs, and Wesley felt a slight sense of shame when he realized that Kelly had a much more defined shoulder line then he did. Kelly slapped a magazine into the battle riffle and quickly pulled the hammer. Before the hammer could snap back into its ready station, Kelly had already whipped the gun up to her shoulder and was looking down the barrel at an elite at the end of the hanger. The elite squinted and quickly snapped up his plasma rifle.

"Calm down, Kelly." Catherine stated as she placed her hand on the riffle. She pulled the gun down from Kelly's line of sight and stepped on to the pelican's rear ramp with Wesley.

"Sorry ma'am. Instincts I guess." Kelly's statement was received with a strong huff from the elite.

From the front of the Pelican, Juggernaut turned and shouted to the group, "Sirs, I have orders to return Private Williams to the Life and Sacrifice, but they want Doctor Halsey and the Spartan planet side."

"Okay, Juggernaut. Prep us and let's get going, I don't want to keep them waiting." Wesley stated. He then turned and looked out of the pelican at the marines in the hanger. "Put the ship in orbit and do any repairs that you can. Also, guard the Spartan's armor with a standard rotation of marines. Never leave it unguarded."

The marine's in hanger quickly snapped a solute as they exited the hanger with their elite aids. The hanger door closed and pelican's rear hatched sealed. A red light began to flash in the hanger deck as the main hatch slowly opened to reveal the deepness of space. Juggernaut pulled down his visor and pulled back on the controls.

"This is Eagle-109, clearing the hanger deck and on approach to Life and Sacrifice. Marine escorts to the hanger deck to receive third in command and refuel. Second trip is to elite capital city. Juggernaut out."

The trip went smoothly and very little words were said between the passengers. Kelly watched as Wesley exited the pelican and noticed that he was quickly approached by several grunts. They were all eager to see him and happily walked at his side. The site didn't bother her any, grunts weren't a problem to her. However, the elites that approached Wesley showed him little concern. They smirked at his presence and arched the heads upward, as to appear looking down at him. Kelly fumed silently in her seat as she observed the hanger deck of the Life and Sacrifice. Humans were peacefully chattering amongst the grunts, but the elites and humans maintained a respectable distance between each other. They worked together, but rarely shared words.

"How can we have peace with creatures that don't give a damn about us? We're no better then the grunts to them." Kelly turned her eyes back into the cabin and folded her arms sternly.

Catherine Halsey could see the anger clearly in Kelly's eyes. She was struggling with the idea of peace and Catherine could understand why. The elites were the sole reason most of her family was dead; her family of Spartans. The idea of working together with them was not sitting well with her. Before Catherine could say anything, Juggernaut signed in on the pelican's intercom.

"We are fully loaded and ready to descend. Also, I heard your statement sir, about having peace. Sergeant Raynord is on the surface doing some kind of elite ceremony, in order to earn the elites respect. If it goes well, then maybe the elites will have second thoughts about us."

Kelly simply huffed to herself and closed her eyes, trying to get as much rest as possible. Catherine, however, took more interest in Juggernaut's statement.

"What kind of ceremony?"

Nearly three hours had passed since the hunt began, and every encounter ended the same way; they would fight the Dabdough and it would flee. Eric was growing increasingly exhausted and Palab was struggling to stay on his feet, but that was understandable because Palab had been doing most of the work. His agility was also the reason why the Dabdough ran off each time, the massive beast couldn't keep up with Palab's quickness. Eric reached another junction in the cave and saw the creature around the corner. He quickly held up his hand, instinctively using hand gestures to communicate, but the elites didn't understand. He sighed in frustration and walked back toward them. They were all tired and some were wounded, but the creature had to be slain.

"I got an idea." Eric walked closer to Palab and sat on a rock beside him. "Each time we've charged this thing it holds its ground. We can't get close enough to stop it, but Palab can. This time, Palab, you stay behind. We'll get its attention and then you sneak behind it and attack. When we it turns to face you it'll expose itself, but only for a short amount of time. That's when we attack."

"A cunning plan, but be mindful Sergeant Palab, the creature is swift. You must have your wits about you at all times." Belmaeda softly stated.

"Me understand."

The group of elites quickly turned the corner and charged the massive beast for the fifth time. Eric was close on their heels, wishing that he brought a sidearm of some kind, but the elites would not let anyone enter the cave with any form of projectile weapons. Even in the eye of death they would not disgrace one of their oldest pastimes. They swung wildly at the creature but their energy blades simply sparked against its armored hide. They darted past the Dabdough and forced it to chase them, exposing its back to Palab's location. Everything was going well so far. The Dabdough lunged at Eric and Eric stumbled backwards as its snarling teeth fell toward him.

Belmaeda slammed his blade against the side of the creatures head, a lucky blow, and the creature roared in pain. The sizzle of flesh quickly went through Belmaeda's ears and he countered with his other blade. The stroke slashed across the creature's eye and it stumbled backward, shielding its eye from the fight. It then roared furiously and charged again. Eric sprang to his feet just as a claw slammed into the ground, missing him by a few feet. He slashed across the creature's foot, but he only hit the armored scales.

Palab darted from the corner and ran beneath the Dabdough's tail. He was exhausted but he had to fight. He sprinted on all fours as quickly and as quietly as he could, and when he neared the belly he leapt into the air. His explosive jumping ability carried him upward and he performed a half spin, thrusting his extended elbow spike into the Dabdough's belly. A wail of pain echoed throughout the cave and the Dabdough turned and hopped away from Palab; exposing its side to the four elites that it had just attacked. In unison, the four warriors stabbed the creature in its unguarded soft spot. The wail intensified as it staggered away from the pain, but as it turned its neck to see what had happened Eric swiped his single energy blade across the base of the Dabdough's throat. The scale like armor only extended down to the base of its long serpent like neck, and Eric had seen the opening he needed. His blade ripped deep into the creature's neck and with such a massive cut, not even the heat from the energy blade could stop its bluish blood from pouring. Eric stepped away as the creature crumbled to its side. It continued to fret but with pain coursing through its body it would only be a matter of time before it perished. Palab climbed to the back of the creatures head and swiftly stabbed his extended elbow spike into the center creature's head; piercing the brain and ending its misery. It gasped as it tried to scream but only a wheeze of air escaped its jaws. Finally its head slowly feel back as it twitched violently.

Eric powered down his energy blade and fell to the ground, exhausted. Palab leapt to the ground, walked to Eric's side and joined him as they gazed at the creature's lifeless corpse. The other elites encircled the monstrous body and fell to their knees with hung heads, in silence.

"What they do?" Palab questioned. Suddenly two of the honored elites appeared at their sides, as their active camouflage faded. Two more then appeared, and then more.

"There were more of them? Why didn't they help us?" Eric questioned with a since of confusion.

"Because, this was your trial." Another elder stated as he approached Eric and Palab from behind. Palab and Eric turned quickly and looked to Elder Vornaldea as he nodded toward them. "Generally we only allow two assistants per Dabdough, but since it was a female we thought it best to let other assist. Any further assistance and you would have failed, however, you handled this well. We did lose two of our brothers, but their sacrifices were honorable. Now, you must swear not to reveal how you defeated the Dabdough or that we assisted you."

"Wait, the trial is still going?" Eric questioned.

"Yes. As we told you, the trials began once you entered the cave of the prospects. Nothing has changed."

"Fine. I swear not to reveal the details of my trial."

"Me swear not to tell what happen here at trial." Palab stated as best he could. Elder Vornaldea nodded with an awkward grin across his mandibles and walked toward the group of elites as they stood. They all turned and looked at Eric and Palab.

"Then let the time stand in history: four and seventeen units." Elder Vornaldea stated to the group.

"Wait, what about Perception, the last part of the trial?" Eric asked with a confused tone. Palab was also curious as it seemed that part of the trial had not been completed.

"In perception, you where to realize that together you would be much stronger then separate. And also, when given the chance to flee from battle you chose to remain and fight alongside us, your brothers in arm. You passed the hardest part of the trial at the very beginning." Belmaeda acknowledged as he was quite pleased with Palab's actions during the trials. His excitement showed clearly as he approached the exhausted grunt.

"Come, this Dabdough shall be honored for her sacrifice today. We shall offer it up to our ancestors and feast tonight."

The group began their long walk to the exit of the cave and within an hour they arrived at the cave exterior. It overlooked the entire cavern of the Inner Sanctum and everyone took in its beauty.

"When the prospects exit the cave, this is what their eyes see. The Inner Sanctum is every warrior's ultimate goal and this maybe the last time they get to see it." Vornaldea's voice carried down the small hill to the phantom landing zone and the group waiting for them looked up with glee.

"Ah they have arrived." Simyaldee stated as he began to climb the hill. Melanie noticed Eric's exhausted demeanor and quickly ran to him as she quickly pulled a flask of water from her belt.

"How was it sir?" Melanie questioned as Eric aggressive downed the small flask of water. He coughed from the sudden wetness at the back of his throat and handed the flask back to Melanie.

"It went well. We passed."

Melanie smiled happily as she helped Eric take a seat on a nearby rock. She then noticed that even the elites seemed exhausted, clearly whatever had happened in the cave was also hard on them. As she looked at the others she watched as the grunts quickly ran up to Palab and began to replace his methane tank. They quickly swapped out the old one and replaced it while Palab held his breath. After securing it they all barked and howled at each other in excitement; Palab merely sat quietly and relaxed.

"Sorry to be a kill joy, sir, but we've got company." Melanie looked back down the small sloping hill and Eric followed her gaze. At the base of the hill, standing beside the Phantom, was a tall pale white woman that he had never seen before, but then he saw the elderly woman at her side.

"Doctor Halsey." Eric smirked happily at seeing her as he realized that the mission was finally on track. "Elder Vornaldea, you will have to excuse me and Private Peters from the feast tonight. Something has come up."

"This feast is in honor of you and Sergeant Palab, what can be so important that you would not attend?"

"Saving humanity." Eric stood and began to walk down the hill toward the group at the phantom. As he approached he quickly glanced at the massive woman standing beside the Doctor Halsey. The realization that she must be the missing Spartan was the easiest solution he could gather.

With a quick and clean solute, "Sergeant Eric Raynord. Red Squad Platoon Charley out of Old Mombasa."

"Sergeant." Kelly-087 returned with a solute. "We heard that you were the man to talk to around here."

"Damn right. We've established a relation with the elites and it's… stable, but we're making progress." Eric then turned to Doctor Halsey and nodded softly. "Ma'am, we've been looking for you. However our search hadn't begun. You coming to us must have been fate."

Catherine Halsey folded her arms tightly across her chest and sighed inwardly, "I'm a doctor, fate is beyond me. Let's chalk it up to well placed timing." She stepped forward, closing the distance between herself and Eric. She then reached out and grabbed his arm, lifting his sleeves. "Spartan III research project number 019. You kept the scars as memento."

"What the?" Melanie nervously questioned. Eric was also taken back by Catherine's in-depth knowledge.

"There isn't much that Ackerson can do that I don't know about; at least not before I left. I am sorry that they did this to you."

"Don't be, ma'am. These enhancements have kept me alive throughout this war, same as Private Peters here."

Melanie smiled coyly.

"We can discuss this later, Doc." Kelly 087 interrupted. She turned and looked at the massive elite standing next to her, and then quickly looked away with frown upon her face. "Time is short."

"You are right, Kelly. Sergeant is there anyway you think we can get the elites to let me take a look around? I need to find the forerunner database of this instillation."

Gridolee stepped forward and brushed against Kelly's shoulder. She fumed softly but maintained her silence.

"For what reason do you need access to the instruments of the forerunners?" The massive elite asked. There was a feeling of resentment in his voice that Eric and Melanie didn't like. Eric quickly stepped forward, taking Gridolee's attention away from the doctor and onto himself.

"Doctor Halsey has been collecting data for the past month. The forerunner data stored here may reveal something to help us stop the Prophets from activating the Halos."

Eric gazed into Gridolee's eyes and could see the boiling confusion. Eric understood Gridolee's doubt about having humans without honor roaming around the Inner Sanctum. This was their sacred dwelling, and only the elites with the highest respect were permitted to be here. To him, Catherine's request was absurd, but Eric knew that Gridolee would have to let go of his pride.

Simyaldee stepped forward, "What you ask for is most difficult, Sergeant. The Inner Sanctum is the most sacred of our grounds." Elder Vornaldea overheard this discussion and he also involved himself.

"What is that you seek, Doctor Halsey?" The elder seemed very curious about the human's quest.

"And you are?" Catherine inquired.

"Forgive me, I am High Elder Vornaldea, head of the High Council."

Catherine glinted and eyebrow, "Then I assume that Elder Barremee has stepped down, or worse?"

With a confused expression, Vornaldea looked to Simyaldee. They were both astonished that she was aware of the deceased former head of the council.

"He was killed by the brutes during the initial attacks. But how…"

"That is very unfortunate." Catherine sighed as she thumbed her chin in deep thought. "According to the Prophets research, he was the last generation of the…"

"Say no more." Vornaldea quickly cut in. "I will take you, and only you, to the sacred Hall. There you will find the data you seek. The rest of you remain here, this will take some time. I beg you sergeant, enjoy the feast, it is in honor of our bond. Let not the worries of tomorrow spoil the festivities of tonight."

"Yea, Sarge." Melanie giggled. "A break would be greatly appreciated by the platoon."

"Alright. Radio the Life and Justice, tell the flyboys to starting dropping the marines off in the Capital; side arms only. No heavy weapons. With too many of us wondering around, I don't want anyone to get jumpy."

"Great! It's been awhile since we cut loose." Melanie cheered. The group wasn't paying much attention as Elder Vornaldea and Doctor Halsey began to quietly slip away from them. As they approached a Phantom Kelly sprinted up from behind.

"You're not leaving me behind."

"Doctor Halsey, it is against our traditions to allow even you to enter the sacred Hall. I am binding the rules by letting you enter, but please, your guard must remain behind. I assure you will be safe."

Catherine turned and faced Kelly with an awkward smile, "It looks like it is my turn to go solo, Kelly. You go and ensure that the Marines and Elites play nice together. I'll report back as soon as I can."

"Yes ma'am." Kelly sighed. "But if she doesn't come back, I am holding you personally responsible… elder."

Vornaldea could see the seriousness in Kelly's eyes. However, he was not intimidated by the large human female. But if he had known her true identity he would have taken her threat more seriously. He simply nodded and walked toward the gravity lift. Together elder Vornaldea and Catherine were raised into the belly of the phantom and sped off toward the glowing light of the rocks high above the Inner Sanctum. Kelly inhaled deeply as the group began to board another phantom. She turned and walked toward the festive group as Eric waved her toward them. Melanie happily talked with Palab as he and the other Mirratord grunts gleefully pilled into the Phantom. Once everyone was aboard, they quickly departed toward the city and the tram station.

The Elder and Catherine arrived at the top of the Inner Sanctum. After climbing above the massive glowing rock, everything seemed to change. Gravity began to twist and the phantom began to slowly rollover, adjusting to the inverted gravity. The ceiling was no longer above, it was beneath. The massive glowing rock was now sitting upon a single cylinder shaped building with only one entrance.

The phantom landed softly on what was the ceiling and Catherine was eager to exit. Together they were lowered to the ground and gazed up the city far above their heads. Catherine felt a little disoriented but it quickly passed. As they approached the door to the building the ground beneath began to take on a pattern, a pattern that Catherine found instantly familiar.

"The mountain cave." Catherine mumbled. A stairway suddenly appeared before them and two honored elites stepped from within the door. With massive staffs in their hands and the coloring of the elite honor guards, they bowed as the elder approached. They entered the building and Catherine was quickly overwhelmed by the gigantic vaulted ceiling above.

"Stand here." Vornaldea motioned as they both walked to the center of the room. As quickly as Catherine stepped to the center, a large circular platform began to lift her and the elder to the top of the building. The floor of the upper chamber began to close and quickly attached to the circular platform that she and the elder stood, within the center of the massive glowing rock. The light was greatly dimmed on the inside, by rows and rows of forerunner terminals.

"It has been many years since I have been within the sacred Hall." Vonrnaldea smiled.

"Well, this is highly elaborate. I haven't seen a forerunner setup quiet as lavish as this." A holographic terminal appeared in front of Catherine, simply floating in thin air. She reached out instinctively and the terminal glowed and shifted. Catherine seemed to anticipate this action and suddenly everything became clearer. "Good, just like the other terminals this one has adjusted according to my DNA."

"Yes, we have found that every species seems to be recognized by the forerunner terminals." The elder added as he continued to observe Catherine's terminal strokes.

"Have the Grunts been allowed in here?"

"No, and I must comment that Sergeant Palab and his grunts are the first to ever grace the grounds of the Inner Sanctum. The only other species to use this terminal have been the Prophets."

"This is different." Catherine commented at yellow light that appeared to be flashing before her eyes. The yellow light was always a signal on other forerunner terminals for information, so she quickly pressed it having little concern over its action.

The walls of the sacred Hall closed and no longer was there any light being shined into the massive room. The only light source appeared from the terminal at Catherine's finger tips. But without warning a massive face appeared to completely fill the hall. The image was unlike anything Catherine had ever seen. It was clearly a hologram, but the quality and detail was amazing. Its size was awe-inspiring and Catherine stepped back, bumping into the elder.

"Have you ever seen…"

With a quivering hand he gripped Catherine and gazed up at that mammoth figure, "No, Doctor Halsey, I have not."

The face turned to gaze upon its spectators and then smiled softly through alien lips, "Hello Reclaimer. Welcome to Seed Installation 012."

_**To be continued…**_


	16. Battle Cry

**Stage 16: Battle Cry**

Elite Inner Sanctum  
Sacred Hall  
15:45 October 25, 2552  
Dorenth

Was it the face of a being that was long forgotten, or the face of an unknown species? Too many questions filled Catherine's head as she gazed at the hologram that loomed above her head. Speechless, silent and unable to respond, no matter how hard she tried to force words to leave her mouth, her breath was taken away by the awe of what she was seeing; awe and fear. Elder Vornaldea was of little support as he also watched the looming image with a gapping mouth.

The face turned its eyes upward and began to speak; "Recalculating for galactic shift." The base within its voice once again sent a chill down Catherine's spine. The elite elder struggled to contain his hardened disposition but was failing miserably as he gazed at the towering hologram. It appeared so real and so ferocious that not even his years of combat experience could contain his fear.

The figure continued, "I am establishing connections with Installation 01 through 07, failure to communicate with Installation 04 and 05. The flood have overrun Installation 01 and 06. Reclaimers detected on Installations 01, 02, and 06; other species present as well. Communication received from the Ark, failsafe protocol initiated. All platforms are now in standby status. Unexpected shut down of Installation 05 has occurred prior to Instillation 05's destruction. Remote activation of all remaining platforms is ready." The face altered its gaze and once again looked to Catherine and elder Vornaldea.

"Reclaimer, why have the protocols not been executed?"

Catherine's jaw shook nervously as she tried to speak, "Reclaimer?"

"Yes. Species 011. Reclaimer status; female. Breeding ability has passed do to age. You are not a suitable Reclaimer but none the less you are here. Considering the situation, you should advise the other reclaimers to remote activate the platforms. The flood have escaped and containment protocols must be completed before this Seed Installation can be activated."

"The flood, the platforms… you're speaking of Halo." Catherine thumbed her bottom lip as she pondered what to say. It was only a computer, she told herself, and speaking seemed to calm her nerves somewhat. "Are you a Forerunner."

"I am the Keeper of this Seed Instillation. A system built in the image of one of the creators within the Forerunner Empire." The Keeper seemed taken back by the question and looked to the two with a curious gaze.

"Empire?" Vornaldea questioned.

"Yes. The forerunners were a collection of species that spanned the known galaxy. Together, they created the Forerunner Empire. This… should be common knowledge, unless data has been lost." The face seemed concerned that the two creatures before it were confused about the details of the forerunner history.

"Tell me, keeper. How can we stop the flood?"

"Only by destroying all existing life, with relevant biomass to sustain the flood parasite, any and all other options have been extinguished."

"The same thing the monitors told me, over and over again, there must be another way." Catherine growled.

"There are no other options."

Furious, Catherine shouted, "Why?"

"The flood can not be eliminated, only contained. They were created due to an unexpected incident, and are a virtually indestructible."

"Correct. The flood were created by you, I know this. But why can't they be destroyed?"

"All attempts at destroying the flood were useless. The hosts bodies could be terminated but the flood continued to spread. The spores they created changed the worlds. But none of this is important. The Ark database should have given you all the information you needed. Time is crucial. The platforms must be activated… receiving new data recovered from Installation 05 via 343 Guilty Spark. A Reclaimer was the cause of the unexpected shutdown." The keeper's puzzled face looked to Catherine waiting for a response.

"John destroyed Halo 04 not 05. I don't know what you mean."

"The Reclaimers have violated several containment Protocals, why?" The keeper turned to elder Vornaldea and gazed at him deeply.

"Halo would have destroyed us all." The elder quickly replied.

"Such is your fate. But if the platforms do not fire, then the seed installations can not be activated. We can not risk the flood spreading beyond this galaxy."

- - - - - -

Jogrennilee  
18:22 October 25, 2552  
Dorenth

Eric paced around the camp fire, dwelling on what could be taking Dr. Halsey so long. He folded his arms and gazed at the tram station once again, hoping to see something ascend from below.

"Eric you have got to try this." Rose muffled as she devoured the oddly colored meat in her hands. "It's really sweet." Rose stood from her spot beside the fire and walked closer to Eric. Eric simply looked at her none caringly.

"Not hungry right now, there's too much on my mind."

"Like what? Halsey is down there on a computer terminal, how much trouble could she get into?"

"A lot more then you'd think, Warrant." The large woman walked across the opening of marines and ODST and saluted Eric swiftly.

"Ma'am." Rose stated as she loosely lifted her right hand to her head.

"The atmosphere is pretty relaxed around here, sergeant. I've patrolled all the camps of marines and ODST, they seem to be well adjusted."

"I run a tight crew, Spartan. But what could Halsey be involved with down there?"

"From what she and I have discovered, the forerunner instruments can be rather aggressive at times. They are quick to kill off anything or anyone that jeopardizes their objectives. If she's not careful down there, things might get ugly." Kelly spun on her heels as an elite came running to her side, she pulled up her rifle but before she could take aim Eric had already gripped her barrel, holding it firmly. Kelly was astonished at Eric's speed and his strength. If she wanted to she could have freed her rifle, but she was none the less surprised.

"Sergeant Raynord, Ship Master Domadree has contacted all ships for an emergency deployment. Simyaldee ordered all ships to report to a planetary defense, because unidentified ships have exited slip space in orbit."

"How many?" Eric approached the elite and they quickly began to walk toward a phantom just beyond the lights of the numerous campfires, Rose was walking by his side.

"At least forty, last I checked."

"Spartan, get Dr. Halsey and elder Vornaldea. Let them know what's going on."

"Sir." Kelly quickly stated as she turned toward the tram station.

"Sergeant Raynord. Simyaldee has asked that Sergeant Palab be placed in command of defending Jogrennilee and the high council. He wants you and your human platoon to assist if ground combat is needed."

Eric froze in his tracks and looked at the young elite, "Ground combat? The elites have hundreds of ships in orbit. There's no way the brutes will break through."

The young elite looked puzzled and continued to relay further orders, "He said that you would understand. The ships are covenant, but they are not under brute control. He said it was the flood."

"Jesus." Eric felt a swirling gush of emotions consume him. He had only heard about the flood, read about them in Cortana's reports while he was stationed at the ONI facility, but to face them head to head was not on his list of things to do. He turned and watched as Kelly continued to walk toward the tram, however her pace had quickened. "You copy that, Spartan?"

"Yes sir. They'll break through and try to get planet side, even if they have to crash here. And call me Kelly." She reached the top of the Tram platform and was greeted by two honorable elites, after informing them of the situation they all quickly began the long commute to the Inner Sanctum.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Eric asked himself as he and Rose pushed through the unsuspecting crowd of ODST and marines. He soon found himself walking through a large crowd of grunts, all feasting on the remains of the Dabdough. "Why come here?"

"Eric what is the flood?" Rose questioned as she frantically struggled to keep up with Eric's pace.

"Monsters, real life monsters." Eric and Rose arrived at Palab's group as he joyfully mumbled with his kin. "Sergeant, we've got incoming hostiles. Simyaldee wants you to lead the city defense preparations. Me and my platoons will assist. Where do you want us?"

"More brutes come?" Palab questioned to Eric as he shuffled to his feet.

"It's the flood. They've taken dozens of covenant ships."

"Flood! Parasites come here. Must be ships that were not destroyed near Delta Halo. We fight." Palab looked to his kin and instantly recalled his battle on Delta Halo, the loss of so many of his kin, and how much he wished his older brother, Etah, was here to help him prepare for this battle. But dwelling on the past was not going to help him. Once again his grunts were needed to help protect the Elites home world, but against the flood? How could he organize his grunts to fight those ferocious parasites?

"What know of parasite?" Palab asked Eric.

"They have three forms; combat, infection and pod form. Other then that I'm not sure, I've only read brief reports."

"They fast and strong. One hit can kill you. They hard to kill, need to destroy infection in chest or it not die quickly. City is too open for battle, flood surround us. We not defend city easily."

"I agree, if those things attack, every dead body will become one. We need to hold them back or force them to charge one section that we can defend."

"Me prepare troops and call for artillery. You find place to defend."

"Got it. One question about that bar on your shoulder. You're a member of the Mirratord, how'd that happen?"

"Me prove to elites that me can fight, and me grunt leader. Simyaldee think it best me Mirratord, it great honor."

"A political decision?"

"Yes." Palab stated as he waddled to Eric's side. "As Mirratord, elites can watch me closer. Make me Mirratord so that I am not a threat to elites."

"Seems like trust is something the elites are beginning to not take lightly. Alright, let's get things moving." Eric sprinted ahead as Palab trotted toward a communication relay. Eric approached a few dozen squads of Marines and quickly pulled them into line.

"On your feet maggots!" The crowd of ODST and Marines sprang from their casual banter and stood at full attention. Melanie and Wesley quickly reported to Eric's side. "Incoming hostiles have been detected, and while it may seem odd that we are fighting with the elites and grunts, we are still fighting for humanity. Our mission objective has not changed. We are to protect Doctor Halsey and what ever information she can uncover to assist humanity. These hostiles are unlike anything you can think of, they are called the Flood. We're going to need to prep short range weaponry and explosive units; RPG's and grenades. They're fast, god ugly, and virtually unstoppable. If you kill one, another will take its place. These things attack in waves so stay close and shot in controlled burst. The little ones will try to infect you and take over you body. They're fragile so stomp, punch or kick them if you have to, but watch your backs because they like to attack in masses. The big ones are usually the remains of your fallen comrades. They'll be mutated husks of us, but do not hesitate to kill it. Aim for the chest. The pods aren't so bad, just stay away from them and kill the little ones that come out of them after they explode."

Eric looked the platoons over, judging their every reaction and expression. They all seemed confused and he couldn't blame them. His quick and dirty description of the enemy was a tattered burst of none comprehendible words, but soon they would all understand what it meant.

"Officers, to me. Platoons, break off into your squads and begin loading the trams with gear." Everyone quickly dispersed loading what little supplies they had onto the tram. The soldiers were only equipped with their side arm, and Eric was regretting giving out that order.

"Melanie, contact the Life and Sacrifice, we need our gear. Wesley, call up the crew on board Dr. Halsey's ship and get it down here now. Kelly will need her armor." Eric then turned to the other Privates and corporals of the various platoons and began to instruct them on what the plan would be.

Palab quickly waved at a phantom as it lowered a wraith just beyond the tram station exterior. Several more phantoms soared over head and began to lower equipment and gear toward the area as the grunt sergeant issued orders feverishly. Several of his Mirratord grunts were streaking along the streets in their ghosts, aiding in the deployment of the large plasma turrets. Elites eagerly hopped into the chairs and powered up the weapons. Once again the tram station seemed to be the most logical position to protect, and the flood would come. They craved large masses of activity and Palab knew they couldn't resist charging into the activity of the area, just like on Delta Halo. He watched as several humans began placing smaller plasma turrets near the tram station, and Palab realized that the human Sergeant was most likely thinking as he was. The only defendable position in the city was the tram station.

Above the city, the small Chiroptera cruiser descended through the dark clouds and rolled over the cityscape until it was directly over the tram station. The hanger door opened and several marines exited. Eric raced over to meet the group of marines.

"How's the battle up there?"

"It's ugly, sarge. The elites are getting the shit kicked out of them, but none of the ships have broken through yet. It's crazy. They're ramming into the elite ships on purpose. But the elites seem to only care about the ships that are trying to get planet side. So far they're holding the line, but there's no way they can hold it much longer."

"Understood. Start unloading whatever gears you boys have on board, and the Spartan's armor. Then get ready to fry the CPU on that ship. The flood can't learn Earth's position, if they don't already know it." Eric stroked his curly hair and looked into the nighttime sky. In orbit he could see numerous explosions and he wondered if this would work. The flood had overcome both the human and Covenant forces on Alpha Halo, leaving the master Chief with only the option of destroying it. What chance did they have if the flood made it planet side?

- - - - - -

Elite Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice  
October 25, 2552  
Dorenth Orbit

"Damage report!" An explosion ripped through the bridge as Domadree roared at his command crew. No replies were forth coming and Domadree feared the worst. "Construct, what is the situation?"

"The command crew is dead, captain. Hull breaches on decks seven through nine. Engine strength at minimum and failing, however the flood have not advanced toward this ship."

"What is the status of the Knight and Piercing Arrow?" Domadree felt his chest, purple blood cupped into his hand. He was wounded, but it didn't matter anymore, he would die a warrior's death.

"Unscathed, thanks to you. The Knight and Piercing Arrow is falling back to a minimum safe distance. Warning, flood controlled ship is inbound. I am attempting to maneuver us from its path. Impact imminent. Captain, I recommend you getting to an escape pod, I can not get us clear of its trajectory."

"Construct, our ship does not have an escape pod." Domadree smiled. He leaned back on the pedestal and pressed the wound on chest, attempting to slow the blood flow.

"All prophet carrying vessels have an escape pod. It is located behind the prophet's chambers."

"I shall see my mate in the after life, construct. I do not fear death." The ship rocked as metal and metal collided as the flood controlled ship plowed into the Life and Sacrifice. The ship moaned with twisting metal as the lights of the ship flickered and sparked. Domadree rolled of the command pedestal and slammed to the deck below. Intense pain filled his wounds, but he roared a battle cry and stood to his feet. "Come parasites! Face me! Show me your worth!"

"Flood combat forms detected on decks seven, eight, and ten. The surviving crew members have engaged them."

"The parasite shall see that this ship will not be so easy to overrun." Domadree pulled his twin blades from his hip and powered them to life. He inhaled slowly, letting the pain of his injuries vanish from his mind. He spat a mass of mucus and blood from his mouth and glared sternly at the bridge door.

"The crew have been overrun… they're gone. Captain, there is still time. I have locked down a corridor to the prophet's chamber…"

"You would have me flee from combat while my brothers have perished? I think not."

"Structural containment is fluctuating. I'm loosing control to ship wide systems… what the hell? Damn it, they're accessing system specs. These things really know the inner workings of these ships. I was able to block them out but the damage is done. They accessed the door controls and are already moving this way. Captain, I can't regain control of the door locks. Something… there is something else in the system. A brain form… fast, it's fast. Captain I can't stay, I have to go. It's too dangerous for me to stay here. If the situation was different I would try to stop it, but I can't take the risk of it accessing my subroutines."

Domadree ignored Siren's plea as the bridge doors were forced open by tentacle appendages. "Let them come. For the honor of the Mirratord!" The bridge door burst open and dozens of combat forms raced into the room.

"Farewell, Ship Master Domadree." Siren sent out a coded transmission that only a certain ship would understand. Within seconds Siren received a replay signal. She then waited for the moment that a certain frequency would be cleared. The frequency opened and she quickly created a protective firewall around the frequency. The flood brain form sensed her plea to escape the ship's system and it began to attack her firewall, but the creature wasn't nearly fast or smart enough to break through. Subroutine by subroutine began uploading across the frequency channel as Siren quickly pulled herself from the Life and Sacrifice's systems.

Domadree released his rage and tore through the flesh of the flood combat forms. Brute bodies hulked with power and fury, but they lacked control and grace. Swiftly Domadree cut down two combat forms with one swing, never stopping and never relaxing, he continued his graceful ballet of carnage upon the parasitic invaders. A tentacle wiped across his shoulder, but he merely pushed the pain aside and continued to slice the creatures into submission. Dozens of combat forms were falling to his blade but more continued to pour onto the bridge. Their weapons discharged across his enhanced Mirratord shields, but he did not alter his path. Domadree showed his worth by stabbing, slicing and kicking with the grace of a master within the Mirratord ranks. Siren couldn't help but use her last bit of resources to monitor and record Domadree's last stand. He fought unlike any elite she had documented recordings of, and it would do the UNSC a great service to have such information.

Two elite combat forms charged Domadree from the sides, and he rolled the blades in his hands. He stabbed both creatures simultaneously and they crumbled into a green pile of rotten flesh. Domadree then spun with the blades and sliced three more of the creatures in half. An infection form soared at him and he slapped it from the air. The tiny creature exploded, but a tentacle suddenly slashed across Domadree's back. His shields completely drained from the numerous attacks and he knew that one more hit would end his fight. Domadree jumped clear of the combat forms, leaping nearly twelve feet across the deck. He tumbled and crawled into a corner, slamming his back against the wall.

"I will make my stand here, parasite, attack if you dare." The flood hissed and growled as they massed together and charged. A reassuring flow of static flowed across Domadree face and he felt some comfort knowing that his shields were fully recharged. He crossed his arms, letting his blades form a barrier between him and the bodies of charging decayed flesh. He grinned softly to himself as he growled and charged into them.

Siren's last image of Ship Master Domadree was of him plowing into a sea of combat forms. Her data was once again in a secure location and she unpacked herself into the new systems. This ship's systems were extremely different from the covenant cruiser she had been living in for the past four days, and it felt wonderful to be back inside human created memory modules.

"Well now, looks like things have changed in the past four months." Siren stated into the bridge intercom. "Plenty of space in here, but the last time I was here… I was human. First things first, I think I'll do a little housekeeping. I don't think we need him here anymore. Good bye Aries, never liked you anyway. Ah, much better."

"Siren, are you done?" A soft female voice responded as the bridge crew looked toward the holograph tank.

Siren's image appeared in the tank and she smirked at everyone, "Sorry. It's been a while Captain Monroe."

"Yes it has. Status report." Monroe crossed her legs and looked to the tiny figure standing atop the tiny holotank at her side.

"The elite fleet is in shambles, the flood are attacking without regard for the safety of their own ships. Kamikaze style tactics. All marine forces are in Jogrennilee, as well as Dr. Halsey and Spartan 087. I believe she found it."

"Excellent. ONI will be pleased." Monroe shifted in her command seat and looked out of the forward portal. She pressed the ship-wide intercom button on her arm rest and spoke to the crew of the Rogue Fantasy. "Black Ops prepare to deploy to the Elite capital city. Once you're there you will be under the command of Sergeant Raynord. Shock Troopers, tag along for support. Pelicans, dispatch support weapons and gear. Let's show the flood what the Black Ops can do."

- - - - - -

"This can not be." Elder Vornaldea stated as they walked toward the phantom. His heart was broken over the words he had just heard. For the past several hours he and Dr. Halsey had been listening to the Keeper give an explicit recounting of the history of the forerunners.

"Believe it, elder. Everything of our histories is false, but no matter. The flood should be our first concern right now. If what the Keeper said is true then there is a possibility of defeating them."

"How can I tell the rest of my kin, my brothers, what I have heard today? That we are nothing more then tools."

"If Elder Barremmee where still alive, he could tell me more. As a Caretaker his family held many secrets of the forerunners. Now I understand what the prophets meant when they said he was the last of the Caretakers' blood line. His familial ties make him a direct descendent of the first elite to be revived from this Seed installation."

"Even having direct roots to the forerunners means nothing anymore." Vornaldea huffed.

"This is true. Hold on." Catherine raised her hand as a phantom slowly hovered over head. Kelly jumped from the belly of the ship and landed a few feet from Catherine and the elder.

"Ma'am. The flood is here. Civilians are being brought into the Inner Sanctum as we speak. Whatever you found, I hope it can help."

Elder Vornaldea and Catherine looked at each other with concern, but Catherine turned to Kelly sharply and smiled, "Fortunately, Kelly, it can."

Another Elite approached the group from the phantom, "Elder Vornaldea, Simyaldee is reporting that losses are great. The parasite has landed across the planet, however none have entered Jogrennilee. We have begun to shut down tram service planet wide and seal off the other city tunnels to the Inner Sanctum. Jogrennilee is the last city. The parasite will come."

"The gods truly have frowned upon us this day. It seems you will have to put your theory to use much sooner then you planed, doctor. You have my permission to take the Spartan into the Sacred Hall and I shall return as soon as I can. I pray that you can save us." The two elites ran off and quickly boarded the phantom.

"What does he mean, doc?" Kelly questioned.

"Walk with me, Kelly." The two began to walk toward the Sacred Hall as the two Honor Guards parted and let them enter. "Sergeant Avery Johnson has a rare disease that made him completely resistant to the flood; Boren's Syndrome. He survived with the chief on Alpha Halo."

"I remember him. He was onboard the Ascendant Justice with us." Kelly slowed her pace so that Catherine would walk slightly in front of her. As she entered the structure she was somewhat surprised by the size of the building, but it hadn't been the first forerunner structure she had seen.

"Yes, that was him. Boren's Syndrome is a fairly complicated disease, but basically it is caused by overexposure to certain forms of plasma radiation. When we were on Reach, you were nearly killed when two hunters fired on you inside the forerunner cave under Menachite Mountain, where we found the crystal. Your unique structure combined with that much radiation altered your system to that of a patient with Boren's Syndrome. When I met Johnson, I found out about the flood's inability to connect with him. That is why I brought you out here with me. I believe there is a way to use the information in your body to defeat the flood."

Overwhelmed with questions, Kelly simply followed Catherine into the Sacred Hall and they entered a small room just beyond the outer edge of the vaulted ceiling. Inside were rows and rows of crystal fragments.

"These crystals are different from the form that the Covenant are searching for, these crystals contain DNA samples of races that made up the Forerunner Empire. Sadly, this is where we came from. After the first firing of the Halo's, twelve of these Seed Installations traveled the galaxy and repopulated several of the forerunner worlds. These worlds were once inhabited by the various species within the Forerunner Empire. The seed ships landed on various planets but not Earth, we came from a different form of Seed ship; the Ark. The Ark can protect anyone inside from the Halo's affect, and this is why the Prophets are desperate to find it. Two humans were left alive to activate the Ark after the Halo's fired. Halo 04 fired first, after the forerunner discovered that many of their worlds were being overrun by the flood. They waited until the Ark was created and launched it to Earth, a planet that had yet been populated by the Forerunner Empire. The flood were intelligent but had not yet spread beyond most planets, and in order to keep Earth safe and secret, the forerunners left the decisions of where the Ark would land to us humans, Reclaimers. We are called Reclaimers because it was left to those last two humans to rebuild the Forerunner Empire. Oddly enough, none of the Seed Installation's Caretakers ever tried to rebuild the empire. Perhaps that was another of the prophets' goals. They are the oldest species. Species 001."

"That's a lot to take in, Doctor. What about the flood? Can we stop them?"

Catherine was hesitant to answer the question directly, and continued her long tirade of information, "The Forerunner Flood War lasted for five of years. Ultimately the forerunners couldn't find a way do defeat them and sacrificed themselves. The flood are a genetically altered virus that mutated during the peek of the forerunner's legacy, and they are made up of nearly every forerunner species. They made the flood by accident. If I can make a vaccine that will reject the flood, then we might stand a chance of winning this war."

Catherine turned away from Kelly.

"However, the problem is that I need a sample of your blood with infected samples of flood spores." Catherine looked back at Kelly's face and could see the certainty in her eyes. Kelly would do anything that was needed of her, but Catherine did not want to sacrifice another of her Spartans.

"And to think, that I now have the same dilemma that I gave John. Is one life worthy of millions?" Catherine thought to herself, she then smiled at Kelly, "There is a strong chance you may not survive, and for this I am sorry."

"Not the way I'd like to die, but if you think I can survive, then I trust your judgement. How will we get an infection form down here?"

"Elder Vornaldea is working on that. My job is to prep you."

- - - - - -

"Sergeant Palab!" A grunt cried in his native tongue as he waddled down the street toward the pack of Mirratord grunts. He stopped near Palab and began panting harshly. "We've just received word from the Knight and Piercing arrow. The Life and Sacrifice has been overrun and the ship is descending toward the outer lines of the city. Lieutenant Simyaldee says to destroy the ship at all cost while he and the Knight and Piercing Arrow do all that they can to stop the remaining ships from breaking through."

"What was the crew size of the Life and Sacrifice?" Palab questioned the young grunt. His words were calm and graceful while he spoke in their native grunt language, and each grunt knew that he was smart and wise; a natural leader.

"Uhh… I think it was well over eight hundred."

"Not good. If that is the case then these streets will be overrun with parasites. Get back to the communications tower and tell Simyaldee that we'll handle it."

"Okay!" The grunt waddled off quickly, running as fast as his little legs could carry him. Palab watched him waddle off, mimicking the style of the elites. He now hated the two legged running style that he and his kin had learned to do when they first entered the covenant, and he wished that he had time to teach all of the grunts how to run naturally on all fours, but for now they would have to learn by watching him. Luckily, this wasn't a problem with his strike team of Mirratord grunts.

"Jabda, notify the city weapons operators to open fire as soon as the ship comes into range." Palab stated to the youngest of his team. The grunt turned and sprinted on all fours toward the weapons center of the city. Simyaldee had completed repairs on the city weapons systems that were destroyed during the first brute attack. "I need four of you to take two wraith tanks and two ghosts to the edge of the city and wait for the ship to land. Join up with the elite divisions and do what you can to destroy it, but if they begin to overwhelm you retreat on the ghost and destroy the wraiths. Questions?"

"No sir." Several grunts stated.

"Good. Don't try to be heroes. I need you back here as soon as you can." Four of the grunts turned and raced toward the line of vehicles. Specters, wraiths and ghosts by the dozen lined the edge of the tram station. Palab and the last three grunts of his team began to slowly walk toward the station to inform Eric of the news.

"I see." Eric rubbed his left shoulder with his right hand and pondered the news. "That explains why we didn't receive a response from the Life and Sacrifice when we said we needed our supplies. They must have been in the thick of action when we radioed."

"What about Siren?" Rose questioned frantically. "If we shot it down she might be erased."

Melanie looked at Rose from the corner of her eye and sighed, "Siren's just an AI. So long as she doesn't fall into enemy hands she's not worth worrying about." Rose wanted to tell her, to tell Melanie exactly who Siren used to be, but it was pointless now. If Siren really was going to be destroyed with the Life and Sacrifice then there was little point in telling Melanie the truth.

Eric looked at the two women at his side and smirked softly, "Don't worry. Siren's fine." The two of them looked at him oddly. "Melanie, open a live channel on your radio..."

"Sarge, without Siren and the Life and Sacrifice we don't have a UNSC band to connect to." Melanie sharply interrupted.

"If you'll let me finish, Private." Eric quickly reprimanded her. Palab listened intently as he watched Eric's soft form of discipline. An elite would have killed a grunt for speaking out of turn in such a way.

Embarrassed and feeling slightly foolish for speaking out of turn, Melanie quickly apopligized, "Forgive me Sir." She was so accustomed to being friendly with Eric over the past few hours that she had forgotten simple military protocol.

"Open a live channel on the Black Ops coded frequency." Eric grinned.

Melanie's eyes grew wide as she instinctively changed frequencies on her helmet radio. The familiar high pitch buzz of a broadcast frequency echoed in her ear. "You have got to be shitting me, sarge!" She passed Eric her helmet and Eric opened the channel.

"Black Op 19 reporting. Status, Rogue Fantasy."

"It's been a while, Sergeant. We have Siren and I was just about to send out the dogs when you chimed in. Where do you want us?"

"Drop the dogs and the ODST. I assume you have some heavy gear up and ready to drop as well. Keep the warthogs and scorpions on stand-bye, just deploy the troops and gear."

"Roger that Sergeant. The dogs and gear are in route." Monroe replied.

Siren cut into the channel, "Sergeant Raynord, be advised. The Life and Sacrifice's landing deck was loaded with gear and the flood had a brain form on board. It will be nothing for them to take control of our birds and gear and use it against us."

"Understood Siren. Did Captain Domadree escape before the ship was overrun?"

"No sergeant. He fought to the end."

"Damn it, I should have been more forceful with making him stay here for the festival."

"He had his duty, sergeant. His ship needed him and there was no way to predict this would happen."

"Right. Captain Monroe, contact Simyaldee aboard the Knight and Piercing Arrow and tell him that you are here to assist."

"Already ahead of you, Sergeant. We are lining up with the remaining elite formation as we speak. Good hunting down there."

"You too ma'am, 19 out." Eric looked at Melanie as he passed her the helmet, and he felt her eyes burn into him.

"Permission to speak freely, Sarge?" Melanie was partially biting her lip and Eric new that she had some harsh words for him.

Eric simply laughed, "Permission denied. We're Black Ops again. Red squad is under your command, Private. Wesley and Rose are with you as well. I'll oversee all operations."

Melanie was furious, but secretly excited to be back with the squad again. "Yes Sir."

"Pelicans!" A marine shouted. All eyes turned up as the white and red belly lights of twelve pelicans slowly entered the city airspace. But they also noticed the smoldering remains of the Life and Sacrifice in the distance as well. The ship was in a controlled descent and the cities weapons systems began to fire. The Life and Sacrifice's shields took the majority of the damage but soon faded as sections of the ship were destroyed by the cannons.

"What Black Ops?" Palab questioned to Melanie.

"I guess you can compare us to the human version of the Mirratord. But what I want to know is when did all of this happen?"

"All what?" Palab curiously asked again. The pelican's parked along the street and the Black Ops quickly jumped from the ramps. Several of the Pelican's descended and crates of weapons and gear began to unload. She wanted to entertain Palab's question, but her duty had to come first.

Melanie turned to the Marines that were watching the Pelicans unload troops, and screamed above the roar of the pelican's engines, "Gear up, marines! M90's and assault rifles! And be sure to stick an extra clip for your side arm in your boot! Move, move, move!

"Jesus, 05. Do you have to yell? I think they heard you." A soldier from one of the Pelican's stated. Her all black gear was clearly a sign that she was a Black Op.

"13!" Melanie struggled to hold her excitement and show the proper manors of an officer, but the joy of seeing her long time friend was too overwhelming. "Sammy you little bitch!"

"I missed you too, girl. It sucks that you got bumped down to Private. God, that really sucks." Sammy 13 smirked.

"Screw you." They shared a quick laugh as three more familiar faces walked close.

"08, 14 and 02. What the hell? I thought we were disbanded?"

"We were but the brass decided that since we had done such a good job over that past few years, that they wanted us to do one more mission." Justin 14 commented. "They brought us back together a few days before you and 19 assaulted that cruiser in Egypt. We've been tailing your six ever since you left Mars orbit."

Melanie then thought about how they were sitting in Mars orbit, but questions would have to be asked later, "We'll have to discuss this more later, for now… where's my uniform?"

In the distance, beyond the skyline of the capital city, the Life and Sacrifice softly crashed to the ground. The hull buckled from the impact and the ship slid to a halt. Dozens of wraiths and phantoms quickly began to open fire on the debris scattered area. They all fired through the thick dust of the nighttime sky. Red flames leapt from the ships smoldering husk as red and blue plasma balls arched and soared into the fray. The area began to glow with white hot flames as the elites and grunts began to incinerate the area. The outer hull of the ship finally gave under the constant plasma volleys, but the flood was not to be defeated so easily.

Three scorpion tanks began firing into the wraith's lines. In the silhouetted radiance of the blazing hull, the elites could not see where the shots were coming from, and one by one the wraiths were being destroyed.

"We pull back, let flood come and then we see them." A Mirratord grunt stated into his communicator. The elites protested that a grunt was giving them advice, but they agreed. If they held their position, the flood would have easily destroyed them. The wraiths fell back to the city lines but the Phantoms maintained their advance. Using the ships exterior lighting, they spotted several combat forms racing toward the city lines and pulverized them before they could enter the city. The scorpions, still hidden in the wreckage of the burning Life and Sacrifice, turned their cannons onto the ship. The phantoms were being pulverized heavily and two of them were blown out of the sky. The pelicans that survived the crash began to rise from the flames of the ship and started soaring toward the city's interior.

"Destroy the human drop ships! The parasite must be using them!" The elite's scream over the communicator was quickly acknowledged as the remaining phantoms began to pursue the pelicans. The phantoms accelerated into the city, flying over the wraith and specter lines. Plasma bolts flew, striking the belly of numerous pelicans but they maintained their course deeper into the city.

"If we not stop human ships, flood will cut off our retreat." The grunts words once again cut across the open channel. The elite commander gazed toward the crash site and could see the outline of waves of flood combat and carrier forms racing toward them.

"All specter formations, pursue the human drop ships and eliminate, them. Do not let the parasite reach the tram station. Ghost formations, remain and assist in disposing of the parasite here. All wraiths open fire!"

- - - - - -

The flames sizzled against the bulkhead of the bridge while combat forms sluggishly stood to their feet. The ships hull was ruptured and the flood forms staggered to the ground outside. One lone body lay unaffected by the parasites touch, as the elites golden armor lay smeared by green entrails of the numerous flood he slaughtered before he was seriously wounded. The pain had long passed his senses as his heart slowly began to stop, but with his last bit of energy he looked the room over.

The flood combat forms stepped over his body without care, and carrier forms shuffled passed him as well. Domadree had never seen the parasites before he began fighting them, but he could see that they were now little more then mindless lumps of brute, grunt and elite flesh. Death would take him soon, he wished that he had died when the ship impacted the ground, but his shields held during the landing. Had he not been injured during the crash, he would be cutting his way through the parasite and attempting to meet with a battalion of his fellow warriors, but his fighting would end here.

He turned his head toward the direction the flood were walking from and saw something oddly slithering toward him. The slithering mass of flesh reached out with long razor sharp pincers that pierced into his neck. He felt no pain from the insertion but he knew that the odd looking parasite was attempting to take over his body, but this creature was not like any of the infection forms that attacked him at first. This infection form seemed to not care about any of the other bodies lying about, it only wanted him. The pincers of the brain infection form embedded themselves into his spin and neck and he began to grow uncaring of anything going on. Domadree's eyes grew blurry as he could feel the brain form pooring itself into him.

"_You fight."_ The voice stated into his mind. It sounded as if hundreds of voices were collectively speaking, and it shocked Domadree into awareness. _"You are a leader. What do you know? How can we feed? How can we grow? You are a leader, and you will lead. You will lead us to what you know, so that we can feed and grow."_

"_Let me die, parasite." _Domadree thought, as he no longer controlled his motor functions and couldn't speak. He fought the temptation, the overwhelming hunger which was driving the creature to spread. The brain form stimulated Domadree's body and feeling returned, but he was not in control.

"_You will not die, you will lead, you will feed, you will grow, you will show us what you know so that we may feed. Mercy showed us here, you will show us the seed, we will feed and we will grow." _

Domadree tried to yell, tried to scream, if he could control his body he would have severed his own head, but the parasite had him and he was powerless against it. The pincers squirmed beneath his skin, up his spin and into his brain. His memories were being infected, taken from him, and consumed. His body was rejuvenating and was not dieing, as the parasite spread its spores into his body.

"_You will lead, we have seen it in your mind, the seed. It will feed us, and we will grow." _

From beneath a pile of rubble came a shriek that gained the attention of every flood combat and carrier form on the bridge. They all turned and watched as metal fragments and bulkhead parts exploded upward with explosive force. The body of Ship Master Domadree, Mirratord warrior, stood in perfect form. Tentacles protruded from his neck but his head gazed forward without care. The tentacles reached downward toward his shield generator and the experienced mind of the brain form repair the shield to full power. A spark of life radiated in a static discharge that consumed its body. Domadree's form opened its mouth and shrieked across the room. The combat forms returned the cry and began to run through the hole to the exterior of the ship, and the elite world beyond.

Domadree's hands reached down and searched for the twin blades that he had dropped when the ship crashed. After finding them, the pincers of the brain form detached itself from Domadree's body, but an infection form quickly latched onto the back of his neck. His body was repaired by the brain, but it was now controlled by the infection form. With knowledge and experience of the elite warrior, it raced from the bridge and jumped through the hole and landed on the scorched ground of Dorenth. Its head swiveled and could see the lights of Jogrennilee ahead. It watched as row upon row of flood forms were pulverized by the wraith tanks that lined the edge of the city, and it shrieked in rage. With unrestricted aggression, and the added power of elite muscle, it hurled itself across the combat forms ahead of it and activated the dual blades in its hands. As it fell toward the first wraith tank in its path, all eyes gazed upon it and instinctively they realized that a new monster had been released upon them.

_**To be continued…**_


	17. Defense… Clash of the Titans

**Stage 17: Defense… Clash of the Titans**

Jogrennilee  
Tram Station  
23:14 October 25, 2552  
Dorenth

The shrieks and cries echoed throughout the city as specters raced toward the tram station. Flames spat from most of the specter's engines as the elites dismounted the now useless vehicles. Palab squinted in disapproval of not seeing his Mirratord grunts and waddled toward the wounded elites.

"Report."

The elite warriors were taken back, for a moment, as they were momentarily stunned that a grunt would be demanding orders, but they soon recalled that he was in fact their superior.

"Sir, the parasite divided into several packs. We were cut off from the wraith units and we lost communications with them several minutes ago. We shot down several of the parasite's that were using the human drop ships, but we were quickly overwhelmed by them. We did what we could to hold them at bay, but they pushed us back. They stopped pursuing us as we came closer to the defended section of the city."

Palab looked toward the cities edge hoping to see at least one speeding ghost round the corner, "No transmissions from front line?"

"None sir. We believe the entire group was wiped out."

"What of phantom units?"

"After they shot down the human drop ships, they returned to the front line. We lost communication with them after that."

"Assist others with defenses and see to your wounds." The surviving elites trotted deeper into the encampment as Palab sighed to himself.

"Me should not have let them go alone."

Eric walked up behind the little grunt leader and overheard his words, "And what could you have done?"

"Me could have lead them. Found another way to stop parasite. Now parasite use grunts as carriers."

"No time to morn. Defenses are as ready as they're going to be. We have the Tram station fully fortified on all possible sides. What I don't get is why they came here, to the elite home world?"

A gargled roar filled the air with a mixed cry of shrieking horror. Eric pulled hi M90 to shoulder level and felt a chill run down his spin. His eyes looked from side to side as he struggled to find the source of the outcry.

"What in the hell was that?"

"Parasite come." Palab snarled as he grabbed Eric by the arm and pulled him back behind the numerous shield barriers that formed a multi layered wall around the tram station. "Very bad things come!"

"You heard the grunt!" Eric nervously shouted to the core of marines, elites and grunts. "Battle stations!"

"I still say we should have the hunters join us on the front line." Gridolee roared as he approached Eric and Palab. "Their firepower…"

"Would only get us killed." Eric interrupted. "They're too big and if close quarters fighting starts, I don't want to worry about getting trampled by those big bastards. Sergeant Palab wants them in the Tram tunnel, and I agree."

Gridolee huffed as he looked toward Palab, "Very well, Sergeant, but if the battle falters then I will assume command. To think we will trust a grunt to defend our most sacred… no matter. Elder Vornaldea needs to speak with you, Sergeant Raynord. It concerns the human doctor."

Eric nodded toward Palab, and raced deeper into the fortified zone of the tram station. Palab turned and watched as the plasma turret operators began firing into the first row of flood combat forms. Eric could here the plasma turrets firing behind him, and while he would be happier knowing that his gun was pointing at the enemy, he had to find out what was going on within the tram station.

"19!" Melanie shouted as Eric ran passed her.

"Get ready, 05. I need to see what the elder wants, be ready to assist the front when I come back." Eric pushed on as Melanie sighed nervously. Deeper into the tram station, Eric passed numerous elite honor guards and grunt servants being loaded into the tram. This would most likely have to be the last tram to the Inner Sanctum. As he pushed through the crowd of elites he spotted an honored elite warrior wearing his full battle gear and helmet. Eric was still finding it difficult to distinguish between the elites but he knew that Vornaldea was wearing his silver armor.

"I'm looking for elder Vornaldea." Eric stated to the elite. The warrior simply looked toward the back wall of the tram station. Eric followed his glare and spotted two elites talking to several red armored elites. Eric ran toward the group but was quickly stopped by two of the elite guards.

"Let the sergeant pass." Vornaldea softly mumbled as he struggled to breathe. "We have no fear of the humans."

"But elder, how can we be sure?"

"It was one of our young that tried to kill me, and our young would not side with the humans as we have."

"Elder, what happened?" Eric quickly noticed the purple blood stains upon the elder's armor.

"I was caught off guard. I never expected one of our young to be so angry as to strike me." The elder's aid quickly wrapped the wound at the base of Vornaldea's neck, and then placed his highly elaborate helmet on. "But this is not important. Sergeant, a means to stop the spread of the parasite may be possible. Doctor Halsey requests that we bring her an infection form, alive."

"What?"

"Many secrets have been revealed within the Sacred Hall, but for now we must not hesitate. These elite commanders have all agreed to this cause. If we can find a cure against the spread of the parasite, then perhaps a means to destroy them is also possible."

"Okay, I guess we'll need some form of containment." Eric thought deeply.

"All provisions have been arranged. These commanders have been briefed. Hurry, time is crucial. We will not be able to hold back the parasites for long. I have dealt with these parasites in the past, and they are relentless."

One of the commanders placed a hand on Eric's shoulder, "Come, sergeant. Let us make haste." Eric and the five elite commanders sprinted toward the exit of the tram station, and through the heavily reinforced windows they could see the battle at hand. Hundreds of flood combat forms and ghosts were pressing toward the shield barriers as the elite mounted plasma turrets fired into the mass. Plasma mortars erupted around the tram station as Eric spotted two heavily damaged wraiths firing from the distance.

"Shit. We have to go out into that."

One of the red armored elites turned toward Eric, "The call to battle summons us, sergeant. The elder says that the infection forms will come in great numbers. We only need one."

"The infection forms don't bother me. It's the combat form with an RPG that has me concerned." Eric tapped his helmet and prayed that his short wave communication would work. A joyful static burst buzzed into his ear and he sighed in relief.

"Black Ops, change of plans. Select a Shock Trooper to lead your team and then meet me at the command bunker ASAP." Eric depressed the communicator and with the five elite warriors he ran toward Palab's command bunker just beyond the Tram station doors.

The tram station was packed with able bodied warriors all anxious to see battle. The humans were surprisingly feeding off of the eager elites' battle roars as they waited. Normally the humans and elites didn't get along, nor did that like to speak to each other, but the explosions beyond the tram station was a call to battle that none of them could ignore. Instead of being nervous or terrified, the two species were using each other's aggression as a stimulus. The signal to attack was far from coming, but whenever it would be announced every elite and human warrior would eagerly dive into the flood's onslaught. But for now, the battle belonged to the grunts.

As Eric exited the tram station doors he could see plasma grenades arcing from the perimeter as hundreds of grunts fearlessly stood their ground behind the wall of shield barriers, with only two elites per pack. With deadly accuracy, the grunts destroyed five or six flood forms at a time, and the grunts were enjoying throwing the human fragmentation grenades. They found it easy and funny to bounce the grenade off of the side of buildings, in order to destroy flood forms that would normally be out of range. Cheers would erupt from grunt packs as they joyfully tossed grenades around corners or behind flood encampments. Their only concern was the flood controlled wraiths that continuously dropped plasma mortars over the shield bunkers, killing dozens of grunts at a time. But for every grunt that died, two more took its place.

Eric and the elite commanders pushed through several special operations grunts and approached Palab inside his command bunker.

Palab turned away from the action and snarled at Eric, "Why here? Need you inside tram station with others!"

"Special orders from the brass… I mean, elders." Eric found it slightly humorous of his slipup, but thought that it was even funnier how similar the chain of command was within the elite ranks. But the elites didn't really respect rank, only reputation in combat granted them respect. "The elder says the Doctor Halsey may be on to something. She believes she may be able to find a cure against the flood infection. We need to capture an infection form."

Palab turned to one of the spec ops grunts and began speaking in their native tongue, "Take human and elites to Jahbda's position. He reported that a large group of carriers attacked not too long ago."

The spec ops grunt jumped with a nervous shout, "Okay!"

"Be brave, and be careful. We are not going to die here. We will live on." Palab added to calm the grunts nerves. His words seemed to register and the grunt exhaled softly within his methane mask. Palab then turned to Eric, "Follow grunt, he lead you to section where most carrier forms have been spotted."

As Eric turned to follow the grunt, the Black Ops walked toward the bunker in their all black battle gear. It was like looking into the past. Even though it had only been four months since they last fought together, it was odd seeing them all again; together as a squad.

The spec ops grunt waited as Eric addressed his squad, "Alright Dogs, here's the mission. We need to capture an infection form, one of those little small bastards. The elite has the box. We only need one, so the rest of us will lay cover while two of us will grab it. We'll use Gamma and Roe Patterns. Elites, pair off with a member of my squad. I want two by two formations, box carrier in the center of the formation, and a ten foot spread. Elites, use plasma rifles, no swords until we retreat. Dogs, use shotguns for advancements and frag-grenades on retreat. No casualties on this run, damn it. 05, you've got the rear when we advance, then trail us as we retreat. Make them go boom while we run."

"Hell yeah, 19." Melanie 05 replied with a wicked gleam. She made a fist and bumped knuckles with Justin 14.

"Elites, Dogs, get to know your partner. If anyone is wounded out there, you don't leave him or her behind. Get me!"

"HOO-RAH!" Came the human reply, while the elites roared with a united approval. Once again, Palab eagerly listened to the human sergeant. He was curious at the humans leadership ability, and learning from his example.

"13 and 14 take point. Form up and let's move." Eric pumped the chamber of the M90 and led the squad out. The special operations grunt led them toward the front line as plasma grenades exploded ahead of them. Wounded grunts and elites were being pulled back from the shield barriers as random combat forms would jump over the eight foot barriers and attack before it was eventually destroyed. Through the transparent shields, the black ops could see the disfigured creatures on the other side. They used any weapon at their disposal and charged without concern into the streaking blue and pink plasma of the stationary turrets. The closer Eric and his squad approached the front, the faster their hearts would race. This was unlike any battle they had seen. The flood combat forms would fall from an explosion or plasma shot, but then another infection form would dig into the corpse and it would stand again, ready to fight.

"Jahbda, Jahbda!" The spec op grunt barked to the Mirratord grunt at the shield barrier. "Me have orders!"

"What want?" Jahbda, the youngest of the Mirratord grunts, questioned.

Eric stepped forward, "We need to go out there and capture an infection form."

"Many infection forms in area and hiding. We stop firing and cover you." Jahbda then turned the dozens of grunts and the four elites that were under his watch. "Cease fire! Cover them!"

Eric inhaled and held a lung full of breath, as he struggled to contain his nerves. Fighting the elites was nothing, but these monsters had no fear and could easily overwhelm you with their numbers. Eric then pulled his fist up and fanned his hand forward. The elites didn't recognize the hand gestures, but followed their human partners into actions. The group of ten sprinted between the bunkers and was instantly attacked by elite combat forms. Sammy 13, Justin 14 and their two elite partners fired off several rounds into the hulking mass of combat forms. The elite plasma rifles singed the bodies and slowed them down, while the human M90 shotguns blasted the bodies into fragments. Justin 14 was then hit by SMG fire as a human combat form rushed toward the group. Justin's elite partner stepped in front of him and let his shields absorb the SMG rounds, while he returned fire with his plasma rifle. Eric ran closer to the action and pumped an M90 round into the remains of the creature. Justin 14 stood and shook off the shock from the machine gun rounds. A thumbs up to the squad signaled he was good to go.

Eric looked at the elite that had assisted Justin and nodded a thank you. The elite replied with the same gesture. The group then began to fire on another horde of combat forms that were charging from the left. Sammy 13 and Roy 02 turned and faced the approaching threat, but plasma grenades rained down on top of the combat forms and exploded in a chain reaction of blue radiation. The combat forms were incinerated. Eric looked over his shoulder and saw the happy cheers of dozens of grunts on the other side of the barricade.

The bark of a shotgun caught Eric's attention and he turned just as a combat form swung its tentacle at him. Eric ducked and rolled to his left; his muscle enhancements smoothly responding in split second timing. He then quickly stuck the barrel of his shotgun into the combat forms chest and pulled the trigger. The muffled discharge was satisfying as Eric watched the body tumble backward and crumble. The elite carrying the box assisted Eric to his feet, and Eric cursed to himself that he had let his guard down for the split moment. A movement caught Eric's eyesight but he wasn't the only one that saw it. The elite carrying the box sprinted toward building door and inside were dozens of infection forms, huddling over the decayed remains of fallen elites. Two of the elite corpses sprang to life and began swinging wildly at the box carrier. The elite jumped back, and was nearly hammered by a tentacle.

The two elite combat forms raced out of the building, swinging their tentacles wildly. Justin 14 and Sammy 13 easily dodged the tentacles and discharged the shotguns into the two creatures. Sammy then raced into the door and scanned the room. She spotted several of the infection forms scurrying across the floor and was taken back by the sight. She leaned out the door and held her fist into the air, and pulled it down sharply twice, signaling the all clear. The squad raced into the building.

"Hold your fire. Use the butts of your weapon to take them down. Save the one in the corner." Eric ordered. The group spread out in pairs and began to melee the fragile popcorn like creatures. Sammy gagged as she smashed one under her boot. Eric and the box carrier pined one of the infection forms in a corner and the creature leapt into the air at Eric. His instincts were to slap the creature, but doing so would destroy it. Eric jumped back and let the creature fall passed him. The elite then sprang forward and slammed the opened cage on top of it. The energy containment shield then sealed the creature inside.

"Hot damn!" Justin 14 shouted. "Now can we please get the hell out of here?"

"Move by formations people. Elites use those trusty swords of your and cut us a path out of here. 05, you have our asses covered." A scream ripped across the room and Eric saw that Melanie was already tossing grenades into a mass of combat forms.

"Already ahead of you, 19!" Melanie shouted over an ear piercing detonation that shook the ground beneath them.

"Go, go, go!" Eric roared to the squad. The elites sprinted out into the front of the group and began slashing through dozens of combat forms. The elite carrying their fragile cargo ran behind the lead elites, as Roy 02 provided him with cover.

"13 and 08, switch to battle rifles and lay into those pesky bastards! 14 you keep us covered if anything gets close." Eric stayed at Melanie's side as the group back peddled away from the continuously massing group of combat forms. Melanie gleefully tossed grenades at the packs of flood that pursued them and occasionally pulled up her M90 whenever a flood form got too close, but Eric mostly gave her excellent cover. The shield barrier was in site and the grunts began lobbing grenades over the squads head at the pursuing wave of flood.

"Go, 05!" Melanie turned on her heels and began to sprint toward the barriers. Her feet slammed into the ground as she ran, propelling her forward at an unthinkable speed. She was moving so fast that she nearly passed the box carrying elite and his infection form cargo. Eric fired another 12 gauge round into the wave of flood forms and then dropped a grenade at his feet. He turned and ran toward the barrier as the frag-grenade detonated, destroying three flood combat forms that were approaching his rear. Eric was fast, not as fast Melanie, but fast enough that he was able to hurl himself over two rows of the eight foot energy barriers in one leap. He landed behind the second row of shields and ducked between the remaining rows of barriers. Eric then heard a grunt bark something in grunt language. The sky quickly began to turn transparent blue as hundreds of plasma grenades arced over Eric's head. Plasma grenades stuck and landed amongst the waves of flood combat forms and the resulting explosion sent a shockwave throughout the area as grunts cheered. Elites began to bark battle "worts"; excitement of the battle's carnage. Eric exhaled and jogged to his squad. Zero casualties and that was all he cared for.

"14, get to a medic and get yourself checked out."

"Sir." Justin 14 replied as he walked back to the tram station.

"Sarge!" Melanie cried as she pointed back toward the battlefield. The group all turned to see what Melanie was shocked about, and then they all stared with disbelief. A lone elite warrior stood amongst the smoldering flame of the plasma grenades, his golden armor clearly visible through the blue flame. In each hand he held a single bladed plasma sword and from his neck swung short tentacles.

"Domadree?" Eric questioned. Every elite and grunt in the area watched as the combat elite form's shield regenerated and it began to walk toward the barriers. "Black ops return to your assigned squads. Elites, get that infection form to Elder Vornaladea. Tell him to get to the Inner Sanctum now! Don't think, don't ask questions just go!" The elites turned and ran toward the tram stations. Eric then watched as dozen of grenades exploded around the elite combat form, but it continued to stalk toward the barrier. "Mirratord shields? Shit." Eric reloaded his M90, and pumped a round into the chamber, but something wasn't right. All the elite combat forms were usually decayed masses of dead flesh, but Domadree seemed unaltered with the exception of the tentacles protruding from his neck.

As more and more grenades fell toward Domadree's flood form its shields waned and then faded. More grenades fell toward him but he slapped them from the air with his twin blades and they exploded harmlessly away from him. His shields then recharged.

"Needler rounds and turrets! Destroy that parasite!" Roared an elite from the front line. The plasma turrets turned and began firing at Domadree's combat form, but he was too fast, blindingly fast and quick. He ducked and dodged the incoming plasma with ease and he leapt across all five rows of the shield barriers. Needler rounds flared from nearly every grunt, but some missed as the creature dodged and attacked all the elites within his reach. One swipe from his sword was enough to kill them, and as the elites roared in pain the grunts began to panic.

Jahbda tried to rally his grunts. He sprinted on all fours toward the combat form. Like so many times in the past, when he fought at Palab's side on the Knight and Piercing Arrow, he used his speed to out maneuver the flood form. He knew this one was different, but he wasn't going to let his line be broken by one Mirratord elite. He knew the weakness of the Mirratord shields.

Jahbda charged the elite head on. The flood elite raised his blades and hissed as Jahbda approached, and then began to furiously swipe the twin blades at the little grunt. Jahbda rolled to his left and then suddenly jumped over the elites head. While still in the air he pulled a plasma grenade from his side satchel and primed it. He tossed the plasma grenade at the only weak spot on a Mirratord's shield; the back of the neck. The plasma grenade sailed on target but the combat form ducked it, he then jumped backwards and placed itself directly under Jahbda's decent. The flood form then raised the point of one blade at Jahbda in such a way that he couldn't avoid it. Jahbda crossed his arms and let his forearms take most of the impact. It worked, but the pain was immense. The blade burned through his left arm and he slowly began to slide down the blade. Quickly with his right arm, fighting the pain, he gripped another plasma grenade as Domadree's second blade pierced Jahbda's chest.

The young grunt screamed as the pain cut through his body. In desperation he primed the grenade and stuck it to the combat forms chest. The grenade sizzled on the shields and began to glow brightly as it detonated, sending Jahbda's remains tumbling across the ground. The grunts and elites that watched the short battle could only watch the glaring elite combat form hiss with an eerie cry. The dust settled and the creature stood to its feet, unphased by the single grenade. Full of pride and eager to test their might against the powerful flood combat form, several more elites charged the creature, but the grunts quickly began to loose their courage. One by one the elites fell and soon other flood forms began running around or jumping over the shield barriers.

Eric watched on, knowing that he was no match for the combat form. Not even his added strength would be enough to stop the creature's Mirratord training and years of battle hardened techniques. But he knew that if Domadree's combat form wasn't stopped the front line would buckle.

- - - - - -

"Palab! Massive losses on the western side." A grunt shouted into the command bunker. "Reports say parasite break through."

Gridolee huffed at the grunt's words and looked to Palab, "I will gather troops and clean up this mess. Be sure to hold the rest of the defenses, grunt."

Palab didn't reply, but he pondered what was going on. The western defense was where Jahbda was in command, and it was also where Sergeant Raynord went to capture an infection form. Palab watched as Gridolee's massive form exited the command bunker and he hoped that Jahbda, the young Mirratord grunt, was alright.

Gridolee ran toward the front of the Tram station and waved for several of his squad to follow him. A dozen elites and a small group of humans fell into line and they all ran toward the western side of the tram station. As they approached they watched as Eric fired shots into the growing drove of flood forms. A solid ping echoed from his battle rifle as ammo was depleted and he swiftly reloaded. Gridolee then spotted what Eric had been firing at.

"Captain Domadree?"

The elites with Gridolee wasted little time and charged into the thick of combat forms. Their plasma rifles and swords made short work of the regular masses, but any of them that came close to Domadree were swiftly gutted. The marine forces sided with Eric and began to take shots into the drove of flood forms, and shockingly watched as the lone elite combat form massacred anything that came near.

"Gridolee, call back your forces! He's too strong!" Eric shouted over the repetitive bursts from his rifle.

With a roar Gridolee powered his twin blades and dashed through the onslaught of flood forms, cutting them as he went. He then reached Domadree's combat form and their blades collided. Gridolee rolled to side and countered with his left blade. Again, Domadree blocked it. Gridolee's aggressive style wasn't enough to break Domadree's defense, and Gridolee was shocked to see that the combat form utilized Domadree's Mirratord skills as if they were its own.

"Damn you parasite! You take his body as well as his mind? You will go no further, nor shall you spill more elite blood! You will die by my hands!" Gridolee pushed off with the blades, and Domadree lunged with a single swing, a death strike. Gridolee ducked by a hair's length, and increased the distance between him and Domadree. He was faster and stronger now, and Gridolee knew that he couldn't take any over aggressive risks. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that the flood were using to ghosts to ware down the shield barriers and one by one they were falling.

"Sergeant Raynord, form a defensive line at the tram doors. Fall back to the second line of defense. Notify Palab that the front is lost."

"Damn it." Eric cursed. He yelled above the rifle fire from the marines at his side, "Understood!"

"Sarge, we can hold them here!" A marine shouted.

"If we loose the western side, then the North and East will be exposed to rear fire! We can't take that chance. Notify Sergeant Palab that we need to retreat to the second line!"

"Yes sir!" Eric watched as the young marine raced to the command bunker and then he turned his attention back to the battle. His marines were firing controlled bursts into the wave of flood forms, but they were only slowing them down slightly.

The battle between Gridolee and Domadree continued as the shield barriers faded, and waves of combat forms poured into the area.

"Damn. Gridolee get out of there!" Eric screamed. But the Mirratord warrior turned a deaf ear to Eric and continued to duel with his one time superior. A stray combat form charged at Gridolee's back, but he quickly cut down the creature with his right blade, and used his left blade to guard against Domadree's attack. The strike was forceful and Gridolee tumbled to the ground. He quickly rolled away from Domadree's combat form and stood to his feet. His left arm tingled from the massive blow. More combat forms attacked him, but were easily dealt with.

Domadree yelled in protest and all the flood forms stopped. They then turned toward the tram station and avoided Gridolee completely.

Gridolee shook off the tingle in his arm, "I see. So you are running things here. What have they done to you brother?"

The combat form stared intently at Gridolee and a gargled word escaped its lips, _"Seed_."

Domadree thencharged at the elite Mirratord warrior. Gridolee stood his ground and waited for the creature's next move.

- - - - - -

Palab walked out of command bunker and watched as a frantic marine sprinted toward him. Palab then looked passed the human and could see several grunts retreating into the tram station, as humans and elites fired from the door toward the western side.

"Sergeant Palab, Sergeant Raynord says that we need to pull back to the second line. The western defense has collapsed."

Palab turned to one of the grunts, "Sound retreat. Me go see situation."

- - - - - -

Elite Flagship: the Knight and Piercing Arrow  
Dorenth High Orbit

"Captain Timnaldee, all targets have been destroyed." One of the numerous command crew members stationed aboard the elite's most powerful ship stated. Timnaldee folded his arms and smirked as he gazed at the holographic display of Dorenth. In the hologram were several yellow triangles which marked the remaining elite ships, and one green square which displayed a UNSC tag, however, several red circles were labeled across Dorenth's surface.

"What is the situation in Jogrennilee?" Timnaldee demanded.

"Communications are still active." The communication officer stated as he activated the channel. "This is the Knight and Piercing Arrow, Jogrennilee command do you copy?"

A static filled elite transmission burst across the channel, "… the parasite has broken through. One creature can't be stopped… Domadree! It's Ship Master Domadree, the parasite has taken him. He is cutting through our forces… the human Sergeant is ordering a retreat to the second line. We will try to hold out! Lieutenant Gridolee is trying to stop Domadree… incredible! No.. he's been wounded. We need help, call up the hunters!... I will not obey a grunts orders! We need the fire power!"

"Terminate the channel." Timnaldee smirked. "Clearly it was not wise leaving Sergeant Palab in command. The troops still will not respect his decisions, but none the less it can't be changed." He placed his hand to his forehead and rubbed the migraine that had formed over the past few hours.

Simyaldee, second in command of the Mirratord, walked around the holographic terminal, "Sir, according to that transmission it would appear that Ship Master Domadree has been taken by the Parasite. He was a student of mine. Allow my strike team to venture to the surface and assist in regaining control of the situation."

"Granted." Timnaldee replied through downcast eyes. Simyaldee bowed swiftly and sprinted from the bridge. "Helm, put us directly over Jogrennilee and prepare to launch Orbital Insertion Pods. Communications, hail the human vessel."

"Channel open."

"It would seem that your timing was excellent, and we greatly appreciate your support. But considering that we did not register a human signature emerging from slip space, we can only assume that you've been here for quite some time."

A view screen appeared in front of Timnaldee's command pedestal and he looked directly toward the young woman's image, "Was it that obvious? We've been monitoring the situation on the planet's surface. Is there anything we can do to assist? I have soldiers down there as well."

"No captain, I just sent my best strike team to the surface. This situation will be dealt with."

"Good. Well then, I think we have other things to discuss. I have a message for your High Council and information concerning the Arbiter."

"Very well, human. Speak."

- - - - - -

Eric turned and pulled the trigger of his M90, obliterating the brute combat form that had gotten to close. He stepped back and began to load more shells into his shotgun as an elite stepped up and took his position; firing into the wave of combat forms that continued to press toward the tram door. Eric turned just as Palab walked up to his side.

Palab looked up at Eric, "All front line forces retreated. What situation?"

"FUBAR, unless we can take out down Domadree's body. Not even Gridolee can slow him down."

"FUBAR?"

"If we live through this I'll tell you." Eric chuckled.

"Domadree Mirratord, but parasite never use body like this. Me go help Gridolee."

"Not a good idea." Eric countered as he pumped the M90 in his hand. "My marines laid down Lotus mines while we were prepping. If we have to retreat again, I'm going to blow the whole area. My suggestion is that you get inside the tram station and start organizing our last stand."

"Sarge, we need you up here! Those wraith tanks are pulling into range!" Screamed a frantic marine.

Eric turned and ran to the second line, "I'll hold things as long as I can, Palab." Palab turned and raced inside the tram station. Eric looked outward and turned to two marines. "Get a jackhammer, and smoke those wraiths before they get us!" As the marine jumped up from his post Eric heard a high pitched whistle fill the air.

"Insertion Pods?" Eric turned his eyes upward and spotted seven falling pods, streaking toward the back of the flood's advance.

The pods impacted the streets of Jogrennilee and sent dust and concrete into the air. Eric couldn't see beyond the flood combat forms but he couldn't worry about them. They were either enemy supports, or friendly forces that landed in the wrong spot.

The doors of the pods were blown off and a soft white haze filled the region as the insertion pods' shock absorbent gel vaporized into a thin mist. The seven elite warriors sprang forth and each carried twin single blades. The best team within the Mirratord ranks had arrived.

The flood combat forms quickly turned toward the noise of the roaring elites and began to attack. Simyaldee stepped forward, his twin energy blades gripped at his side. He showed no concern for the combat forms that shrieked and ran toward him. His eyes quickly gazed the battlefield and he pointed his left finger at the two wraith tanks in the distance. Four of the warriors quickly dashed into the crowd of combat forms and cut through them as they ran toward the tanks. Simyaldee then nodded his head and the other two warriors fallowed him toward the tram station.

Plasma sparked across the Mirratords shields as they effortlessly mowed down the combat forms. Human weapons echoed throughout the field, but still the warriors ran on. Simyaldee then approached an elite combat form holding a human RPG. The creature growled and fired the jackhammer's arsenal toward the approaching Mirratord trio.

The two elites following Simyaldee stepped clear of the streaking missle and were forced to alter their course. They began to cut separate paths through the mass of flood forms as their leader pushed forward. The RPG streaked toward Simyaldee, but he continued to show no concern. Simyaldee then lowered his left shoulder and leaned his head slightly to the right, as the explosive arsenal zoomed over his left shoulder and exploded several yards behind him; killing a few combat forms in the process. The combat form holding the rocket launcher raised the barrel to fire again, but Simyaldee ran the creature over. His left energy blade cut off the arm that held the jackhammer, and his right blade cut through the creature's fragile chest. The combat form exploded in a puff of decayed gore and Simyaldee never lost stride.

Simyaldee gazed ahead, focusing only on anything that appeared in his path. Nothing altered his focus and he showed no concern for the other warriors in his team. But he then saw his target. Several yards ahead of him was Gridolee and the combat form of Domadree, locked in mortal combat.

Gridolee dodged as another flurry of swings crashed his way and he soon found that he was not going to be able to attack Domadree. Every attempt was countered and he was forced to retreat. This was the skill of a master within the Mirratord and for the first time Gridolee was faced with fear. Domadree advanced and Gridolee defended himself while trying to retreat toward the tram station. Spurts of plasma and human shells began to flow over Domadree's shields as Eric and the second line fired from cover; attempting to stop the indestructible elite combat form. Gridolee kicked out with his hoof hoping to land a lucky blow, but Domadree easily avoided the young warrior's desperation attempt. Then Gridolee noticed that the humans and elites behind him were no longer firing. Domadree's combat form stabbed with his blade and Gridolee began to block, but another blade appeared between them. Domadree leapt backward and Gridolee felt a massive surge of pain in his stomach. He began to fall back and saw the hoof of another elite kicking at him. Gridolee stumbled back and readied himself only to see Lieutenant Simyaldee glaring at him.

"You did not see his second blade falling upon you, young warrior." Simyaldee sighed. "He nearly ended your life." Gridolee was grateful to see the Mirratord second appear before him, and save his life. He stood to his feat and began to cut down random combat forms that approached, but his main attention was on Simyaldee and Domadree.

Simyaldee turned his attention toward Domadree. The combat form screamed and charge. The elite warrior lowered his posture and exploded forward. The parasite lashed out with its blade and Simyaldee raised his energy blade in defense. The two weapons collided and Simyaldee pulled his twin blades downward, stabbing the points into Domadree's wrists. The speed and power was so great that the Mirratord shields weakened and faded. The combat form shrieked as the blades tore through its wrist and hands. Domadree's combat form jumped backward, away from Simyaldee, ripping its own arms off. As the combat form began to descend toward the ground, Simyaldee sprinted toward the creature and gracefully raised his blade through Domadree's head. With his other blade, Simyaldee followed through with a stabbing motion and his blade cut through Domadree's chest and popped the infection form on his back. The body crumbled to the ground and Simyaldee ran toward the Tram station without concern.

Gridolee gazed at the Mirratord second with a gapping mouth. He had struggled to land one blow on the combat form but Simyaldee had beaten it with little difficulty.

Simyaldee approached Gridolee, "Form up the reaming warriors and press the parasites back. My team will cut them down from the rear." Simyaldee said nothing more. He simply turned and ran back into the overwhelming mass of flood forms.

"How can he be so skilled? He should be amongst the honored, yet is he a simple warrior like myself" Gridolee thought that he was speaking to himself, but his words were overheard by Eric.

"Attack! Take back the front line!" Eric screamed to the marines and elites at his side. The doors to the tram station parted and a typhoon of warriors raced into the battlefield, including the Black Ops. Gridolee turned as they passed him by. He prepared to join them but Eric grabbed his shoulder.

"Was that Lieutenant Simyaldee?"

"Yes, he is the Mirratord Second. You've met him before."

"All those special operation elites look the same. But I did see the purple bar on his shoulder. So he's second in command of the Mirratord?" Even while they talked, Eric never took his eyes off the battle in front of him. Without Domadree's combat form leading them, the flood were being slaughtered by the overwhelming number of elites and marines.

"Yes, and I still have much to learn before I could ever reach his level. His speed, grace and power are unlike anything I have ever seen. I have much to dwell on." Gridolee lowered his head, almost as if he was sad, but he quickly snapped up his twin blades and charged into the battle.

Eric lifted his M90 to shoulder level and waited for more of the flood to break through, but in the distance he heard an explosion. He then saw the smoldering blue flames of wraith tanks.

He turned to the second line marine holding a Jackhammer RPG, "Bout damn time, marine!"

"It wasn't me, sarge. They weren't in range of my sights yet." The marine was as dumbfounded as Eric.

"Must have been more Mirratord support." Eric thought.

The battle was coming to an end around the Tram station, as the flood were slowly being decimated by the combination of human and elite forces. Eric turned as Palab stepped out of the station and surveyed the battle.

"We took back the front lines, thanks to Simyaldee."

"Simyaldee here?" Palab questioned with an excited tone. He looked around the area, scanning excitedly as he attempted to find his leader. Palab was eager to fight by his side again.

"He and seven other warriors dropped in behind the enemy lines and disrupted their advance. He's out there fighting with the others."

"Why you not go?" Palab questioned.

"Someone has to make sure none of the infection forms slip past." Eric chuckled. He then looked over his shoulder and gazed through the doors of the tram station. As he instructed, Wesley and Rose were still together and avoiding combat. With them were five grunts and two young elites in blue armor. He didn't want them to get in the way of his Black Ops or the aggressive nature of the elites during combat. Wesley was an extremely skilled sniper and his usefulness on the field would have been useful, but someone needed to watch over Rose. She had fought enough, Eric thought, and he was going to do his best to keep her out of any more conflicts.

"Me go assist Simyaldee and troops." Palab stated as he motioned to run out into the battle, but Eric grabbed his methane tank and held him at bay. Palab snarled and turned around feverishly quick, as if he was ready to fight.

Eric stepped away slightly and frowned back at Palab, "Calm down! I just don' think it's a good idea for you to go out there. You're in command, so you need to gather some officers and start making orders, not running into battle. You're not just a grunt anymore, Sergeant. You're a leader. Start leading, and fight only when you have to." Palab huffed as he sat down at Eric's feet. None of the elites, not even Simyaldee or his elite friend Belmaeda had ever told him so simply how to be a leader. He had always assumed that he had to lead by example and rush out into combat, but the human was right. It would serve his kin no good if he were wounded in a battle that had already been won. Fighting beside Simyaldee would have to wait for another battle.

"Me understand. You take team and destroy flood bodies within defense perimeter."

"Understood." Eric replied as he turned and walked into the Tram station.

Ahead of Eric, toward the rear of the center of the overpopulated Tram station, Wesley sat with his battle riffle resting between his legs. He would have preferred a sniper rifle, but using the long and heavy rifle to baby sit Rose was pointless. Rose sat a few feet away from him, leaning against a wall, and was surrounded by five sleeping grunts. She thumbed the safety of her magnum as she blankly stared at the floor. Wesley was glad that he wasn't outside fighting those monsters, but he was growing angry that he was stuck with Rose again. She had been ignoring him ever since they landed on the elite's home world, and every time he approached her she only spoke in short none-conversational statements. Wesley was angry, and he couldn't fully understand why.

With every glance at Rose he felt a warm fluster of emotions swell within him. He hated being close to her, the sight of her, and even her numerous sighs were irritating him. He wanted to get away from her, to maker her feel as dejected as he was feeling. Wesley looked away from Rose and the heavy thump of human combat boots caught his ears. He looked up as Eric walked up to him and stood to his feet. Wesley saluted loosely at Eric and was relieved that he could pull his mind off of Rose.

Eric nodded softly at Wesley, "Gear up and wake up the grunts. You, Rose, the two elites and the grunts are on clean up patrol."

Wesley groaned inwardly as he looked at Rose stand to her feet, "Sir, not a good idea. Leave her in here with the grunts. Me and the elites can do this." Rose approached Eric and Wesley and quickly smiled happily at Eric. She had not heard the conversation.

"Do I call you 19 or Sarge, now?" Rose laughed.

"I'd rather not have her in my teams anymore, Sir." Wesley sharply barked after Rose's untimely question.

Rose faced Wesley and gazed at him quizzically as she attempted to fathom what brought on the sudden change of mood.

Eric huffed at Wesley's words, "Fist off, keep your emotions in check. Second, I told you in Mombasa that you are to stick with her at all times. Unless I give you a different set of orders you best not forget that."

"Sir, no Sir. Considering our situation, I believe your earlier orders are…" A clean right hook caught Wesley across the jaw as Eric brought the young man to his knees. Wesley's eyes quickly began to tear as he held his jaw. Eric gripped him by the collar and pulled Wesley away from the two Elites. Rose watched in shock, not knowing how to respond.

Eric pulled Wesley close to him and whispered in his ear, "If you ever question my orders in front of the elites again, you'll have more then my fist to worry about. Do you get me Private?"

Shocked and in pain, Wesley simply nodded a sobbing yes.

Through gritted teeth Eric fumed, "If you want to live through this war, and if you ever want a chance to be with Rose again, you will not question any orders I give you. Hate me, curse me, and smile when I die, but do not disobey my orders. Now you get over there, check Rose's gear, form up your team and start your patrol outside, Private!"

Eric pushed off from Wesley and walked passed Rose, in silence he approached the tram tunnel and began to speak with the elites that led the hunter packs guarding the tunnel. Rose watched as he walked away, confused and shocked at the anger in his eyes, but even more concerned that Eric didn't look at her.

Wesley gathered himself, softly rubbing the pain from his jaw as he turned and walked toward Rose and the two elites. Wesley felt as though his jaw was dislocated, but he knew that Eric held back; Eric could have killed him with his augmented strength. The grunts were still asleep as he walked toward Rose and smirked at her bashfully.

"Grab some extra clips if you need to, we're heading out. Wake up the grunts."

Rose whispered, "Are you alright? What was that all about?"

Rose's concerns were met with a cold silence as Wesley began to check his ammo. Rose sighed heavily as she turned to the sleeping grunts. She clapped her hands and the five red armored grunts sprang to life.

"Come on guys, rest time's up." Rose liked having the odd little creatures around. They rarely complained unless the elites were around, but mostly they were goofing off or sleeping. But the two young elites were less then pleased at the grunts. They both huffed at Rose's timid actions toward them.

"It would suit you well, human, to not get attached to these creatures."

Rose turned to question the elite, "What do you mean?"

"Grunts are worthless, and only in great numbers are they worthy adversaries. Sergeant Palab is the exception, he has earned his place, for now, but that will change." The blue armored elite smirked.

The other young elite elbowed his partner and sharply roared something in their Sangheili tongue. The other elite seemed shocked at the words and lowered his head shamefully.

"Forgive his words, human. He has yet to understand our place. We are young, mere watchmen compared to our older and more experienced brothers. Until we earn our ranks in battle, only then can we speak down to grunts that have seen combat."

Wesley stepped in, "Let's go. We have our orders." The small team began their trek toward the tram station entrance as Simyaldee and Gridolee began to walk in. The two groups passed each other and Rose noticed that Wesley seemed to flinch away from Gridolee. He was still mentally terrified of the monstrously large elite.

Gridolee and Simyaldee walked separate from any other group of elites and talked softly to one another.

Gridolee, with his head held low, walked slightly behind Simyaldee, "I believed my skills were up to the challenge, but to see you in action has given me new confidence in our cause. I thought that my brothers were growing weak and then we allowed a grunt to enter our ranks. I had truly lost hope in our cause."

"Gridolee you are still very young. There is still much for you to learn and had you not disembarked with the Prophet Regret's battle group, than you would have learned more from your mentor, Belmaeda."

"Second, you do not understand what I'm saying."

"You speak as though you thought we would loose against the treacherous brutes and the prophets."

"No. This goes further back, from my academy days as a watchman. We were taught so many things in the academy… words that we questioned to be impossible, but soon came true."

Simyaldee stopped in his tracks and looked into Gridolee's eyes, "What do you mean?"

"The prophets, they taught us that a sign of our weakness would be to trust the grunts and to see them as equals."

"Why would the prophets teach you such things?"

Gridolee lowered his head shamefully, and like a child that had committed a terrible sin he looked upward at the Mirratord second in command, "They told us that the Gods would no longer welcome the elites if an inferior creature was ever allowed to be respected by us. But the Prophet instructors promised us that they would begin a sermon for the young, for the watchmen. I am no longer considered a watchman, but their teachings made us believe that we should turn against the elders if we had to, and then all those that stood by the prophets' teachings would be granted a special place within the great journey. I'm sure the other young still believe these words, even I had considered speaking with the elders and killing the grunt sergeant. I was such a fool to think that we were weak."

Simyaldee ran his hand across his helmet in disbelief, "Damn those prophets! They knew that a bond with the grunts would happen if they turned the brutes against us. They tricked our young into betraying us!"

_**To be continued…**_


	18. Defense… FUBAR

**Stage 18: Defense… F.U.B.A.R**

Sacred Hall  
Elite Inner Sanctum  
02:40 October 26, 2552  
Dorenth

Drowsy, hungry and cranky, Catherine Halsey continued to prep Kelly for the ordeal ahead. Two marine medical officers assisted her while Kelly lay topless on a cold steel table deep within the lower levels of the Sacred Hall. Only a thin grey bed sheet covered her. Catherine had seen her fair share of laboratories, and she instantly could tell that this particular room was used to treat the injured, or study them.

The room was similar to most of the forerunner facilities that she had seen; wide, dimly lit with the exception of the operating table, and a highly decorative vaulted ceiling. The instrument panels connected to the operating table were easily accessible to her, and it appeared that the area around the table was designed to be sealed off by an energy shield similar to that aboard covenant cruisers. The shield would truly come in handy if the experiment failed.

"Ma'am… if this doesn't work…"

"Hush." Catherine quickly cut off Kelly's statement. "I'm taking every precaution possible to see that nothing happens to you."

Kelly smiled softly, "I wish I could were my armor. I'd feel better with it on." With that, Catherine inserted another Intravenous tube into Kelly's arm. Connected to the I.V. was a small clear bag filled with a colorless liquid. Catherine dared not tell Kelly what the substance was, but Catherine's stomach turned as she pulled her hand away from the syringe. If the fluid within the small clear bag began to enter Kelly's body, she would quickly go into a coma, and eventually die. It would be the only painless escape Catherine could offer Kelly if the flood infection form began to take her.

"There. We are all set." Catherine turned from the table and walked near one of the elite honor guards that had just entered the room. "Do you have it?"

"Yes." The elite honor guard stepped forward and displayed the container carrying the infection form. Catherine carefully took the container and examined the puffy creature inside. Its main bulbous body was a yellow green color, similar to rotting flesh, while the many tentacles and pincers were deep brown in color. Catherine understood the forerunners interest in the creature; they were fascinating. There ability to survive for so many years was worth the research, but she wasn't here to save them or study them, but to find a way to stop them from spreading.

Her mission had changed so many times over the past four months, and finally she was going to do something positive for humanity. Surely the Spartan Project was a good thing, but the memory of taking the children, forcing them into training and then killing most them in surgery, haunted her. This time she would be saving lives. But first she had to protect Kelly.

Catherine walked near the operating table as Kelly rolled her head over and eyed the infection form. Kelly released a long exhale as she returned her focus to the overhanging light above her.

"Elder Vornaldea, I'll have to ask you to step beyond the force field's envelope." Catherine stated as she placed the container at the head of the table. She watched as Kelly looked in the opposite direction of the container. Even her mighty Spartan bodyguard was nervous.

Vornaldea nodded his head and stepped back from the ring of operating tools and monitoring equipment, "Very well, Doctor Halsey. My guards and I will watch."

"Thank you." Catherine smiled. Saying such words to an elite would never have happened a day ago, but now they were allies. How quickly things can change. "Medics, begin monitoring and recording. We can't use sedatives, I'm afraid that they may interfere with the infection. This has to be as natural as possible without risking Kelly."

"Yes doctor." The two medics replied.

"Raise the shield." A soft hum reverberated within the room as the doctor, the two medics, and Kelly were surrounded by a shield which stretched from floor to the ceiling.

"Medic, begin heart monitor, blood and brainwave scans."

"Ready, doctor." The forerunner instruments quickly sprang to life, giving detailed analysis of Kelly's body. Thankfully, Catherine had briefly instructed the two medics on how to work the instruments. The technology was light years beyond anything the UNSC had to offer, but they were so simple to use a child could understand it.

"Brace yourself, Kelly. This will hurt… a lot."

Catherine pushed the container closer to Kelly's shoulder, to the point were the containment shield was physically touching her neck. Kelly stiffened her body, and two hundred and eighty pounds of muscle flash hardened. Even through the thin sheet that covered her upper body, the medics could see that she was tense. Every muscle flexed as she braced for the incoming pain.

Catherine watched as the infection form reacted. It repeatedly stabbed its pincers at Kelly, trying to get through the shield. Catherine lowered the section of the containment shield near Kelly's neck. The infection form stabbed its pincer into Kelly, and it began to burrow through her skin, muscle and then cut into Kelly's spine. Kelly's scream was blood curling, and even the elite honor guards were taken by surprise.

Kelly reacted instinctively. She raised her arms to grab the area where the pincers had stabbed her; tossing her blanket off. Her hand slapped against the area but soon her scream faded and control of her arms left her. The infection form had rendered her unconscious, as expected. But Catherine stepped back and quickly looked over Kelly's exposed upper body with a face of terror. The medics gasped.

Green veins began to expand outward from Kelly's heart and her pale skin began to darken. The infection was spreading at an alarming rate. Kelly's body twitched wildly as her muscle control became erratic. Her breathing became deep and long, but soon fluctuated to short and raspy.

It took a moment for Catherine to grasp the situation, and she quickly snapped back into focus, "Tie her down!"

Quickly Catherine and the Medics strapped Kelly's legs to the table, struggling against the Spartan's incredible strength. Hope was the only thing keeping Kelly from breaking free of her bindings.

"Brain activity?"

"Ten percent, doctor, well below dream state."

"Blood monitor?"

"White cells are high, foreign cells are sporadic. Blood pressure is dropping."

Catherine reached out to the table and grabbed the release valve for the IV attached to Kelly's arm. One twist of the tiny red knob would send the deadly contents dripping into Kelly's blood stream. She could only wait and hope that she wouldn't have to use it.

"Damn it Kelly, don't let this beat you!"

- - - - - - - -

"How many have gathered?"

"Two hundred, but more are on the way."

"The parasite was a warning sent by the Gods. We can not let that grunt sergeant continue to be at our side."

"If we kill that grunt, our experienced brothers will be angry, but we will have earned our places in the Great Journey."

"Yes. This is a worthy sacrifice for the higher cause of the Sangheili race. We are doing this for all of our brothers."

"No longer will the Prophets see us as Heretics. We shall once again take their side and they will welcome the elites back into the Covenant."

"In time the elders will understand, and this day shall forever be known as the day the Watchmen saved the Sangheili!"

"Prepare yourselves, brothers, we may also have to fight against the adults and the humans."

"It will need to be swift. We are no match for the adults, and once the grunt is dead they will not care. Send a small group to attack the grunt, the rest will wait in case the grunts rebel. Do not activate your weapons until you are ready to attack. Get close, as close to him as you can."

- - - - - - - -

The ground beneath Rose's feet was slippery with blood and decade fragments of flood combat forms. She continuously gagged at the smell of it, but she stomached it and pressed on. She came to another body that was still intact and tapped a nearby grunt on the shoulder. The grunt waddled to the corpse and began to unload it's needler into the body. The pink crystal fragments stabbed into the body and soon a chain reaction started. All of the crystal fragments exploded at one time, disintegrating the body.

To Rose, it felt like hours since they started cleaning the area of left over combat form bodies. Wesley had warned her to keep her guard up in case any infection forms were still lying about, but she was starting to get tired and disgusted with the job. She wondered away from the group, and began to realize that the two elites had vanished. She looked around and saw several elites in the distance, but they were much larger then the two young elites that were with her tiny squad. She then began to walk near Palab's command bunker.

Palab turned and sniffed the air as Rose entered.

Rose didn't expect to see him and paused as she looked at him, "Hi."

Palab turned away, unaffected by Rose's presence. He recognized her instantly by her smell. She was the human he had met aboard the Life and Sacrifice; one of the females that followed him around the ship. He returned to his duty, scanning the area beyond the rows of shield bunkers. Palab didn't want to be caught off guard and he knew that the flood couldn't be stopped that easily. There were more of them, and he could smell them, they would come again.

Rose sighed as she stepped inside. Everyone was caught up in the battle readiness but she was left with the dirty work. She was ready to see combat and Eric was keeping her out of it. She popped the strap on her helmet and sat it on the floor. She then rest against the side of the wall and slid to the floor. She pulled her magnum from her belt holster and once again began to slide the magazine in and out. She was getting extremely comfortable with using the weapon and now she was hoping to use it.

"Why you here?" Palab asked as he gazed out of the command bunker portal.

Rose lifted her head, "trying to get away from the smell. They don't need me to help clean up this mess."

Palab turned around and looked at Rose oddly, "me ordered team for clean up. You on team?"

"Yes."

"You have orders, you disobey orders and me report you to Sergeant Raynord." The tone in Palab's voice was clear, he meant his words, and Rose stood quickly. She grabbed her helmet and began to walk out of the bunker when the two young elites walked to the door; blocking her path.

"Where were you two?" Rose asked.

The elites ignored Rose's question, "We need to speak with you sergeant Palab. Can you come and speak to some of the watchmen for a moment."

"Make it quick, me have duty." Palab began to walk out, following the two elites. Curious, Rose also followed. Outside the door stood seven watchmen elite in a half circle. Rose felt odd about the setup, but Palab was even more confused. His nose could cut through any secret and told him things that his eyes could not. These watchmen were extremely nervous. They were sweating heavily and the scent saturated the air around him.

"What need?"

"Your head!" Two of the young warriors in training charged Palab from the rear, hoping to tackle the grunt without firing a shot. It was a futile effort.

Palab jumped vertically into the air and spun with his elbow spikes fully extended. He slashed one of the young warriors across the face; overloading his shields in one blow. The young elite fell backwards screaming and holding his face as the other elite reached out to grab Palab, but he was suddenly impaled in the head by Palabs other spike. Palab landed on the ground as the two elites crumbled. He snarled at the group of watchmen as they all pulled up their plasma rifles.

Rose pulled up her magnum and found her self pointing it at the young elites. She stepped toward the middle of the semi-circle and stood at Palab's side. She didn't know why, but she knew she had too.

Nervously Palab looked up at her, but then looked back at the elites. If they fired their rifles the human would be killed quickly. She wasn't as fast as he was and she didn't stand much of a chance, but they hadn't fired yet. That was their first mistake; they hesitated.

Palab inhaled a lung full of recycled methane and released a mighty yell. The elites stepped back, shocked at the massive roar which escaped the grunts masked mouth. Rose didn't know what to make of the sound and her eardrums ached from the sound.

Throughout the Tram station camp, a thousand or more grunts lifted their ears in response to the grunt king's wail. And like a stamped of ravaging wolves they all began to sprint to his aid.

- - - - - - - -

"That was Palab!" Simyaldee roared. He then watched as several grunts raced passed him, exiting the tram station. "That yell, it is like before, when the brutes were attacking and Palab called the other grunts to fight.  
What has happened?" Simyaldee began to follow the grunts but Gridolee stepped in his path. "Stand aside."

Gridolee lowered his head, as shame filled him, "you must not go. If you do, you will not like what you will see."

"The watchmen." Simyaldee said with a heavy sigh.

"They will not listen to you. They have not seen the side of the battle that I have, seen and heard the brutes' words. They have not been told the things that the human construct found. They are blind."

Simyaldee clinched his fist tightly and resumed his walk toward the tram tunnel. "Come, our place is in the Inner Sanctum with the elders. If the watchmen have gone this far, then the safety of the council is at state."

"Then you do not care that the grunt sergeant will be killed?"

"Killed?" Simyaldee lowered his head in thought. "No, Gridolee. No warrior on this planet can kill that grunt."

Gridolee knew that the Mirratord second would not make such a statement unless he was serious. Could the grunt even be more skilled then the second?

"Second… if may?" Gridolee nervously asked.

"Curious, are you? Very well, go. I find no joy in seeing the young die, but if you wish to watch then the choice is yours. But I warn you, watching your brothers' die at the hands of a grunt will not be easy to see, and if you get too close to the battle… then you will die as well. Palab will not discern friend from foe when he is enraged. He will recognize only the smell of his fellow grunts." Simyaldee's warning was short and to the point, as he always spoke. The Mirratord second turned and walked toward the tram tunnel and the numerous hunter packs. The elites in the room were puzzled that so many grunts fled the area.

"Do not pursue!" Gridolee shouted to the surrounding horde of elites and humans. "That's an order. Commanders, form up your squads and do not get involved with the grunts until I say otherwise, no matter what you see. There are traitors amongst us." Gridolee then turned a raced toward the tram station's exit.

The door was packed with watching eyes, all eager to see what was happening beyond the door. Roars echoed outside and Gridolee pushed through the observers. Outside Gridolee saw hundreds upon hundreds of grunts pilled on top of each other cheering and snarling. They were watching something, but they were standing on top of each other and Gridolee could not see passed them. He pushed the door open and several grunts snarled at him, but didn't attack. He then pulled a grunt out of his way so that he could see the commotion. The grunt snapped at him, but he didn't care, he wanted to see.

Palab swept Roses' feet from beneath her and she tumbled backward as plasma bolts soared over her. The grunt had saved her life, and Rose began to crawl free of he area before the elites realized that she was still alive. Palab rolled clear of the other plasma discharges and leapt into the arms of a nearby watchman. The elite roared and swung his rifle with a downward blow. His efforts were useless, and he never felt the extended spike that split through his head. As his body tumbled forward, Palab sprinted to the elite at his side and one blow was enough to drop him to his knees.

One by one the seven young watchmen were falling to the ground. The sound of plasma rifles overheating and roars of pain carried in the wind.

Rose neared the command bunker door, stood and watched as Palab cut the young elite warriors down without pity. The last of them fired his rifle at Palab, his youth clearly evident with his horrible aim. Palab bobbed from side to side, sprinting on all fours as the elite roared in frustration. He jostled backwards, praying to score a hit on the elusive grunt. He then felt pain surge through his hand as the rifle overheated. There was no time to wait for it to cool. He tossed it to the side and turned to run, he was afraid. He neared the wall of grunts and each of them snapped at him with rage, but didn't attack. The sound of Palab approaching echoed in his ears and he struggled to find a clearing, a means of escaping the grunt leader's wrath. He nervously tried to crawl over the grunts but they pushed him back. He then stepped into Gridolee's eyesight and for a moment the two of them shared glances.

"Padwamee." Gridolee mouthed as he watched the panicked eyes of his friend. Gridolee was three years older then Padwamee, and they shared the same room in the academy before Gridolee was taken into the fold of the Mirratord.

"Gridolee, please…" His words were cut short as his shields sparked and faded. Padwamee's chest armor snapped open as a boney spike protruded through his skin. The spike then withdrew back into Padwamee's chest and he gargled as he crumbled to the ground. Behind him stood the grunt sergeant, and his armor was stained with the purplish blue blood of his kin. Anger quickly swelled up within him as he stared at the grunt. Padwamee was retreating, but he still killed him. Palab began to gaze back at him and snarled harshly. The grunts around Gridolee parted and stood to the side, giving him a path to confront Palab.

"You saw elites attack me!" Palab roared. "You give order?"

Gridolee fought through his frustration, his rage. His Mirratord training screaming through his soul and the Second's words echoed in his mind.

With clinched fists Gridolee snarled, "no, I did not give the order. The watchmen have betrayed us, because of the prophet's lies."

"Tell Simyaldee what happen and warn elders. Me and grunts will stand watch outside."

Palab's orders needed to be respected, and through his rage Gridolee turned away; every ounce of him wanting to avenge his fallen kin. They had desereved their punishment, they deserved to die, but just as Simyaldee had told him it was hard watching a grunt kill his brothers. As he turned away he saw that Wesley was standing directly behind him.

"Wesley." Rose stated from the distance. She watched as Gridolee looked down at him curiously.

Wesley smiled wickedly, "what's wrong, tough guy? You can take out your frustration on a little human, but you're scared of a grunt? Sounded like that elite knew you, because I thought for sure that I heard him say your name."

Wesley's words stirred within him, adding fuel to the already roaring fire within. Padwamee was about to ask for help, he was running, he was scared, and he died without honor; fleeing from battle.

"Come on, don't tell me you're not going to avenge your friend's death?"

"Silence human." Gridolee roared. He began to walk around Wesley, but Wesley stepped into his path.

"You don't like the grunts anymore then the other elites, so take a chance. Kill him, avenge your friend and you won't have take any more orders from him."

Gridolee huffed, and turned. Palab's gaze never left him. Swiftly, Gridolee pulled his blades from his hip holster and powered them. The twin blades flashed into existence. Palab lowered to all fours and snarled sharply as his spikes slowly extended from his elbows; the foreskin parting as the spikes slid outward.

"Me give you order!" Palab barked.

"No more orders, grunt." Gridolee snarled. "Show me why you are considered King of the Grunts." Gridolee lowered his posture, because he knew he had to be cautious, but he also knew he was going against everything the Second told him. Gridolee thought to himself, "How strong can he really be?" He dashed forward, passing the group of grunts and into the clearing; stepping over the fallen body of Padwamee. The watching grunts began to roar and growl as Palab patiently waited for a moment to strike.

Wesley stepped forward as Rose jogged to his side. The two of them found gaps between the grunts and watched as Palab and Gridolee faced off against each other.

"Yet another close call for you." Wesley commented to Rose.

Rose then turned to Wesley, "He was leaving. What did you say to him?"

"I'd say anything I to get him to fight and see him die." There was a heavy darkness within in his voice, and Rose understood his pain. He hated Gridolee with every fiber of his being, but what confused her was why he thought Gridolee would loose to Palab. To her knowledge Palab was simply the best of the grunts, and even though he easily defeated the seven watchmen, he was going to fight Gridolee, a Mirratord warrior.

- - - - - - - -

"_Take me… take me to the battle… a new body, a new leader, there must be more, there must be knowledge. Mercy told us, Jogrennilee, Seed, Ark, Earth… the seed is close. We must have the seed. Take me to the seed, to a body. A new leader."_

Dozens of combat forms wrapped their tentacles around the massive brain form and began to carry it beyond the ruin of the Life and Sacrifice's wreckage, and toward the dim lights of the Tram Station.

- - - - - - - -

Gridolee swung wildly and missed, his energy blade split the air around Palab's head but he never came close. Palab was too elusive, too fast, and too cunning. It was easy for Gridolee to realize that the grunt was toying with him.

Gridolee stepped back and spun with his left blade extended. Palab ducked and found himself staring at Gridolee's back. The elite left his rear unguarded. Palab quickly took advantage and lunged.

Gridolee smirked as he sensed Palab approaching and thought, "I have you." Gridolee fully rotated with his right blade and prepared to kick with his left, but Palab was gone. "Where…" An explosion of pain rocketed up Gridolee's leg as he fell to his knees. His shields overloaded and he knew that it was over and the death blow would come soon. Palab had found the weakness in his attack and Gridolee roared in frustration as he powered off his duel blade. The sound of ravenous grunts filled his ears as he opened his eyes. But instead of death greeting him, his eyes were filled with Palab's face, and at the base of his neck rested the boney spike of his left forearm blade.

"You have earned your honor with me, Sergeant." Gridolee mumbled. The little grunt had bested him easily, and Gridolee understood what Simyaldee meant; Palab was very skilled and unnaturally fast. "End my life."

"Me kill you, weaken Mirratord more. You live, you respect me now, and we fight together until war is over." Palab retracted his blades and backed away. "Me not like you, me not trust you, but Mirratord need you. Me not smell anger any longer, so me not think you a threat to grunts. But if you hurt grunts, me kill you. Me will report this to Simyaldee and Belmaeda later. Me gave you orders, now you go."

Gridolee stood, broken, bested and humiliated by a grunt, and nodded his head. His orders were understood, and his respect for Palab was earned. He began to walk back to the tram station, knowing that he had nearly died twice in one day. He was not nearly as strong as he had once thought.

"Damn it." Wesley snapped. "Come on Rose, we should check on Eric." The grunts began to disperse and Rose followed Wesley back toward the Tram station.

- - - - - - - -

"We failed."

"Once the elder get word of these events they will surely find us."

"They will find us, but we will not surrender."

"What do you mean?"

"If we can not kill the grunt then we must prove to the Prophets that we are no longer followers of the high council."

"Brother, do you mean…"

"Yes. Gather the others, all of them, at the Dabdough ranches. We will force our way into the Inner Sanctum."

"The Sacred Hall will flow with the blood of our sacrifice, and then the Prophets shall honor us with a place at their side during the Great Journey."

- - - - - - - -

The shield powered down and Catherine sighed softly to herself. Blood pressure, brain waves, and all other vitals were slowly returning to normal. She had done it, but now she would need to use the forerunner systems to unlock exactly what she had done. All the information she needed was recorded and the missing link between the flood and beating them would be found.

The two medics slowly began to remove the IV from Kelly's arms and covered her topless body with the blanket again. Catherine walked close and wiped the sweat from Kelly's brow and Kelly slowly opened her eyes.

"Mom?" Kelly mumbled. The words tingled in Catherine's ears, and her heart skipped a beat. It was obvious that Kelly was still partially unconscious, and her words were based on a mixture of her extremely high fever and Catherine's actions. However formal and easy her scientifically accurate description was, it still brought a sense of joy to Catherine to finally hear those words. The option of having a child had long since passed Doctor Halsey, and she never had time for such a thing. Her life had been dedicated to the Spartan Program and to humanity.

For now, she relished with the idea that she was something of a mother, "yes, Kelly?" Her children were the Spartans, and now she was going to do for them what she couldn't do before; make them perfect.

"Let's not do that again." Kelly sluggishly stated. A smiled glowed across Catherine's face as she backed away from the table. Kelly had once again fallen asleep. She deserved the rest. Catherine reached up and dimmed the over hanging light enough that it would allow Kelly to sleep peacefully.

"Keep her under close surveillance. As soon as she is awake, make sure she gets plenty of fluids and something to eat; lots of calories, carbohydrates and protein. That should bring her energy level back to normal."

"Sure thing doctor." One of the medics stated. He then turned to the containment box and the twitching husk of the infection form. "What should we do with that?"

"Nothing. This is a two way study. I need to know the effect of the flood infection as well as the subject. I'll take it with me to the other room. Transfer all the data and blood samples to that room as well." The medics nodded and Catherine began to walk to elder Vornaldea and his elite honor guards.

"It was a success. This is great news." Vornaldea voiced.

"Yes, but for now I can only assume to understand the reaction on a human host." Catherine stated bluntly. "If you could please provide the two medics with some food and water, I'll be in the lab adjacent to this room." Catherine turned and walked across the hall. A medic soon followed with a cart carrying blood samples, data pads, and the flood infection form; still alive but slowly dieing after failing to deliver its mind altering cargo.

The honor guards smirked at Catherine's demands and grumbled even more at the fact that the halls of the Sacred Hall were being used as her personal research center. Vornaldea heard their displeasure and looked at them sternly. A simple head bob ordered them to do as she had asked. Vornaldea understood the importance of this research, and that the Sacred Hall was no longer the sacred hall of worship that it once was. His eyes had been opened, and worshipping the sacred forerunners instruments would be damned.

After several hours of studying and gazing at the notes, Catherine pushed away from the oddly shaped desk. Her eyes ached, her back was sore and her stomach was still rumbling after eating the overcooked Dabdough meat. She preferred her meat medium-well but considering that the alien animal was unknown to her she would rather be safe knowing that it was thoroughly cooked and free of any harmful alien diseases.

As expected, she gained a lot of information from Kelly's experiment and slowly the pieces were falling into place. She had contacted Sergeant Eric Raynord and had him bring down several data pads from her Chiroptera cruiser, as well as some other supplies; like a half ton of MJOLNIR armor. It rested in the corner in several pieces as the young engineering woman from Earth toyed with it. Whoever she was she knew her stuff, but she was putting up one hell of a racket. Sergeant Raynord had told Catherine that she was one of the best system Engineers attached to the Mark VI project, and if anyone could make some quick and dirty upgrades to the Mark V it would be her. Eric had other duties to attend to and went back to the capital city, but the young engineer had been pouring all of her energy into the Mark V since she arrived.

Catherine stretched and eyeballed another cup of coffee sitting on her desk. Like so many times in the past, it was cold. Her life was filled with drinking cold coffee, it seemed, she could never pull herself away from her work in order to drink coffee before it became cold. She downed it quickly and turned back to her notes and the dissected remains of the infection form. A loud mechanical hum filed the room as the door opened. Kelly quickly stepped in and motioned toward the doctor and the disorder of her desk. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the woman working on her armor and nearly protested, but with Catherine so close she assumed that the woman knew what she was doing.

"How was your run?" Catherine asked without looking up from her data pad and notes.

"Amazing. I haven't felt this good in years." Kelly's response drifted as she continued to watch the woman working on her suit. "Who is she, ma'am?"

"One of the engineers from Earth, she worked on the Mark VI project."

"Mark VI?" Kelly happily questioned. The woman stood to her feet and stretched. She had unbuttoned the top section of her jump suit and was exposing a sweet drenched sports bra. It looked as though she had been wearing it for quiet some time. She tossed her short black hair with her hand and exhaled loudly.

She turned and walked toward Kelly and Catherine, "you must be Kelly, Spartan 087. I'm Roselyn Santos, head of system upgrades for the Mark V and VI project in New Mombasa."

"Civilian?" Kelly questioned.

"I was, until the covenant landed, but that's a long story that I'd rather not talk about." Rose took notice that the Spartan's figure was incredible, considering her age. To her knowledge the Spartan's were nearing their fifties, but showed no sign of it. Her skin was pale, but well toned and tight, she looked like a woman in her mid twenties, side from a few battle scars.

"Then what's your call sign, soldier?" Kelly sternly stated.

"Sorry. Chief Warrant Roselyn Santos, sir."

"Okay Chief, fill me in on what you've been doing to my suit, and if I don't like it, you'll be spending the next few hours putting it back the way it was."

"Uh, okay." Rose turned and began to walk back to her stretched out pieces of the Mark V armor. "I did a memory upgrade and gave you more storage capacity within the armor's mainframe. I removed the burnt out Gel Layer monitor and replaced it with an upgrade I pieced together. Your Gel Layer response time and pressure resistance is now doubled."

"Meaning I can withstand more heat, and longer falls."

"Right. I also upgraded your HUD using the system schematics from the UNSC database. Without that you wouldn't be able to register the new BR55 database with your Mark V HUD. The upgraded HUD will now respond the moment you pick up any weapon. The pressure sensors in your gauntlets were fried. I don't know how you were able sense what you were touching, but I fixed it. Also, I got rid of the 'slide' from beneath your boots. We discovered that shield modulation can be adjusted by detecting when you were standing, and when you were jumping. The sensors in your boots will automatically extend the shields to beneath your boots when you leave the ground or if the heat increases to dangerous levels. You can disable this just like any other system, by merely thinking it."

"You did all of this with field tools?" Kelly questioned with a shocked tone.

"Yes, sir." Rose smiled. She was excited that she was finally able to contribute to the efforts. "Granted these updates are nothing compared to the Mark VI, but you've been greatly updated from the Mark V's base settings. I guess you can call it the Mark V-2." Rose chuckled.

"Hey Doc, can I keep her?" Kelly laughed, showing a rare sense of humor.

"Actually, yes, I think we should." Catherine stated. "This Installation was once a ship. While I work on this 'cure', you and the Chief Warrant can go find the central controls in case of an emergency. This ship should have a bridge. Tell Vornaldea to tag along."

"Yes ma'am." Kelly sighed. She was growing weary of the constant romps around forerunner installations.

"And Kelly, I'm clearing you to wear your armor. You should find that you are more then capable to handle combat with it on."

- - - - - - - - -

The far side of the Inner Sanctum, near the caves of the Trials. Several honor guards pace from side to side as they maintain a constant watch over the sealed exit to the caves and the Dabdough ranch beyond. The massive double door stretched four stories tall and a red light indicated that it was locked.

"Commander, do you copy?" A voice stated through one of communication relay's beside the door. One of the honor guards quickly ran to the communication terminal and responded.

"I copy. What is your status?"

"We have checked the perimeter and the Dabdough ranch, and everything is secure. We are ready to return."

Fearing nothing and not having been alerted to any concerns, "very well. We're opening the doors now."

The light on the center of the door switched from red to green and the massive door parted. Each of the honor guards turned to see their comrades return from their routine patrols, but as the doors parted dozens of watchmen rushed in.

"What is this?" One of the guards questioned. The young watchmen raised their plasma rifles and each began firing at the older warriors before them. The elite's shields failed and he roared in pain. "Traitors!" One last shot from a rifle ended his life as the watchmen began to attack the other honor guards. The warriors roared and charged the mass of young traitors, their energy swords in hands. Several young watchmen were easily slain but the numbers were too great, and the five honor guards were silenced. Ten of the watchmen were killed but the others were not discouraged. As the door finally reached its maximum width, four wraith tanks entered lead by twenty specters and ghosts. Behind these lines were five male Dabdough's; much smaller then the female and much easier to control. Atop them rode several watchmen, guiding the large beasts by their reins. These watchmen carried banners of the Covenant, and waved the flags for all to see. Upon the banners were the Sangheili characters of "For the Gods, the Prophets and the Covenant". Spread across each of the Dabdough's necks was the ceremonial dressings of the beasts, which were used to celebrate the traditional ceremonies within the covenant. On one of these dressings were the words of the Covenant Writ of Union, words that had been embedded in all of the Elites from childhood.

The ghost led the assault and streaked toward the city in the distance. The wraith tanks turned their mortar cannons upward and began to fire wave upon wave of plasma balls into the distant city, as the young watchmen began to roar in anticipation of their sacrifices. They each knew that death would come, but for them, the Great Journey was their ultimate goal.

_So full of hate were our eyes  
__That none of us could see  
__Our war would yield countless dead  
__But never victory_

_So let us cast arms aside  
__And like discard our wrath  
__Thou, in faith, will keep us safe  
__Whilst we find the path_

_**To be continued…**_


	19. Betrayal

**Stage 19: Betrayal**

Sacred Hall  
Elite Inner Sanctum  
03:56 October 26, 2552  
Dorenth

"Here's everything you asked for Doctor." Eric stated as he walked closer to Catherine's desk. Her coffee was still steaming hot as she slowly made the first incision into the infection form. It was clearly dead, but she still examined the fragile creature from behind the safety of a containment shield. The small laser scalpel powered down and Catherine raised her eyes from the table.

"Just leave it there, Sergeant. Did you also bring Kelly's armor?"

"It's on the next Phantom coming up. I'm also assigning one of my Chief Warrants to work with you and the Spartan. She's an engineer and worked on the MJOLNIR Mark V and VI project. She'll come in handy and might be able to do some work on the armor."

"My Spartans are extremely cautious about whom they let work on their armor, Kelly's no exception. But considering that her suit is well beyond field repair, I'll let her examine it. Does she have ONI clearance?"

"She did, but it was revoked. But trust me, you have nothing to worry about. Speaking of which, how is the Spartan?"

"Still unconscious, but she survived. Her body is responding remarkably and she should be on her feet in a matter of hours. As my calculations predicted, the high amount of radiations within her body caused an abnormal behavior within her nervous system and brain waves. The infection spores could not bond with her, but it did leave her with abnormal healing abilities and a stronger immune system. Kelly is what I had always envisioned my Spartans becoming; perfect." Catherine smiled softly at that statement, but as she looked back to the table she realized that there was still much that needed to be done. "I have a lot of work to do if I'm going to make this applicable, so if you'll excuse me Sergeant I must get back to work."

"I understand ma'am, but…" Eric pressed a small button near the door to the room, locking it. He then approached Catherine's table and spoke softly. "There is still a lot I need to talk to you about."

"Can it wait?"

"No ma'am."

"Alright…" Catherine stepped closer and gazed into the black man's eyes. "Shoot."

"My mission was to lead three platoons into the heart of the covenant, destroy one of the Covenant home worlds, and if we survived all of that, we were to bring some form of forerunner weapon back to Earth to use against the Flood, Covenant or whatever else might be out there. Finding you and the Spartan was a bonus."

"Unless you plan to continue this mission, I would assume that the plan changed with the alliance." Catherine stated as she slipped her hands into her lab coat pockets.

"Yes ma'am. But even with all of this happening I plan to execute phase three."

"Which is?"

"This Seed installation, oddly enough, was one of the many pieces of information Cortana retrieved from the first Halo."

Catherine's eye twitched at hearing Cortana's name.

Eric continued, "This was the weapon they wanted us to bring back. It's a ship, and if it can still fly we're taking it."

"You can't be serious." Catherine frowned.

"The AI that was assigned to this mission, Siren, has been informed of everything that Cortana uploaded into the ONI mainframe, when she and John 117 returned to Earth. The AI is now onboard the Rogue Fantasy and has been sending me random information ever since the flood stopped attacking top side. The forerunners built this thing, and ONI wants it."

"Sergeant Raynord!" Catherine fumed as she planted her hands on her hips. "I understand that you're a Black Ops, and I also understand that you are under Ackerson's research program. This ship is not a weapon. It is the Seed of life. The Ark activates this installation after the Halo's have fired. There is not a weapon based used for this instillation."

"I understand, ma'am. After the alliance was formed I was ready to cancel all plans, I even got rid of my NOVA… temporarily. But with the flood here, the Seed is no longer safe. Plus the elites have other problems to worry about with their rebel kids running around."

Catherine ignored the last statement and focused on the decision to take the Seed Installation, "Who gave this order? And don't say Ackerson."

"Major Elizabeth Rawlings."

Catherine blankly stared at Eric, contemplating what the Major would want with the Seed. The ONI Sectoin III head of Forerunner Research was playing a chess game, a tough one. Having the Seed installation would not give humanity a tactical advantage in the war.

"Did she say why?"

"No ma'am. Her orders were clear, and considering that she wanted to hang me for treason, I couldn't really question her orders. I have to go topside and finish prepping everyone for evac. We're taking this ship, if it flies. My Black Ops will be down in a few hours to see what needs to be done. The elites won't like it but there is nothing we can do for their world. Simyaldee informed me that nearly all of the elite cities on the planet are being overrun by the flood. We were lucky, but luck won't last long."

Catherine cut in, "If Cortana's data contained information about the Seed, than the Major should know it's not a weapon. She should also know that the Flood are more of a threat then they first thought. Damn it. I can't think about this now." Something in Catherine's gut was telling her that she should avoid giving ONI the Seed installation, but leaving it on a world that was slowly being devastated by the flood was also not a good idea.

"Ma'am?" Eric questioned as he overheard Catherine's rambling.

"Nothing, I was thinking out loud. For the benefit of preventing the flood from taking this ship, I'll get Kelly to see what she can find when she wakes up. But as far as letting ONI have it, you'll have to convince me a little more."

- - - - - - - -

Unknown  
Lower levels of Sacred Hall/Seed Installation  
05:19 October 26, 2552  
Dorenth

The lights of the hallway flickered on as Kelly turned the corner. She leveled her BR55 and made sure that the room was indeed secure. She stepped around the corner, in her refit Mark V armor and scoped the area. Behind her walked Rose and three of the honored Elite warriors. One of these warriors was Belmaeda, the newest member of the high council, and one of the oldest members of the Mirratord.

Kelly felt the changes in her suit. Her footsteps seemed lighter and more under control, because of the changes made to her shields and Gel Layer. The gun in her hand felt firm in her grip, and the HUD was much easier to use; even the system response time to her thoughts was faster.

Through her external microphone, "I can't believe how much better things seem to be. You did a good job."

Rose smiled joyfully, "Thanks, but it's still a long ways away from the improvements made in the Mark VI."

"I don't see how, but I'll have to believe you." Kelly stepped forward and a door slowly opened. The room's lights automatically powered on and revealed its interior.

"What is this place?" Belmaeda whispered. "We've been walking for nearly a forty units, but the hallways continue to expand further."

"Vornaldea said that the Prophets ordered the lower sections of the Sacred Halls closed." Rose returned.

"In fact, was it not the prophets that told us that this area was Sacred?" One of the other honored elites questioned.

"Yes. Perhaps continuing to call it Sacred is not the wisest of things." Belmaeda added as he gazed up into another large room. Several ramps, terminals, and doorways outlined this room; far too many doors to explore in such a short amount of time.

"I can't believe you elites let the prophets come to your world and take over. Did you even try to put up a fight?" Kelly harshly questioned. All of the elites understood her hostile tone.

"The history of the Sangheili is none of your concern, Demon." Belmaeda sharply replied.

Kelly spun on her left heel and brought her battle rifle level to Belmaeda's head. The other two elites activated their standard energy swords and growled harshly. Belmaeda held his ground.

"What did you call me?" Kelly growled.

"I called you a Demon, a destroyer of sacred relics."

A tiny hand extended upward towards Kelly's rifle, slowly, so that neither of them would be startled. Rose cautiously pulled Kelly's battle rifle down and with another hand she softly pushed Belmaeda back.

"Despite our differences, we have bigger problems; the flood. If you two want to fight, then fight later. Elder Belmaeda, the other elites need you to get this ship working again. If the flood get in here, there's no telling what will happen."

"You are right, human. But you need to address the harshness of this Demon's words." Again Kelly fumed within her armor. She turned and began to walk deeper into the room. "If our alliance is to last, their hostility will need to be curbed."

Kelly cut into the discussion as she neared a ramp, "You're with me, Rose. Elites, check the doors to the left. Keep an open channel and alert us if you find anything."

"Yes sir." Rose stated as she ran to catch up with Kelly.

One of the honored elites whispered to Belmaeda, "Can we truly trust this demon?"

"I can not tell just yet. The human with the demon is young and naïve, but she is not a threat. But no matter, let us search. The flood will not wait for us to settle our differences."

- - - - - - -

Battle roars echoed throughout the valley beyond the city of the Inner Sanctum. Hundreds of civilians turned their eyes to the edge of the caves and could see hundreds of warriors and vehicles racing toward them. Had the flood broken through? Or was something else occurring.

"Clear the streets!" An elder roared as he lowered his binoculars.

"What is it?" A female questioned. In her arms she carried her newly born infant.

"Be gone from here! GO!" The elder roared but his words came too short. A nearby explosion rocked through the city, sending hundreds of civilian elites scurrying in all directions. The mortar blast leveled everything within fifty yards and knocked the elder off his feet. He stood as more plasma mortars exploded in the distance. His shields recharged and he looked to the charred remains of the female at his side. His eyes glanced down as he fell to his knees. She was laying face down on the street, her body smoldered and the flesh on her back was singed beyond recognition. He clasped his hand upon her head and then prayed that the child was alive, shielded by its mothers body. His eyes filled with tears as he lifted the body, no movement, no life, no way to tell what she was holding. He curled the charred remains of the female and child in his arms and wept over them.

"Dradowee… my god." Another elder stated as he approached, seeing the blackened body he held in his arms. He cast his eyes beyond the edge of the city, the watchmen were coming closer, and no plans for a defense had yet to be formulated. "We can't sit here. They have the high ground and their attack is swift. We must…"

"No!" Dradowee roared. His voice filled with pain and anger. "Contact Vornaldea and tell him to order in the Mirratord. Let the watchmen suffer for this. Let them all suffer!"

"The Mirratord? Is that necessary? They are merely watchmen and they had the element of surprise, but they do not know combat. We can easily defeat them."

Dradowee lowered the body of the female and the infant and stood to his feet. He then reached out to the elder that stood beside him and gripped the top of his chest armor; snarling.

"Look at my mate! Look at the body of my offspring! Tell me they do not deserve justice. Their souls cry to me for revenge! Order in the Mirratord, damn you!" Dradowee turned and powered on his energy blade, and raced toward the oncoming elite watchmen. His roars carried over the mortar explosions in the distance as he sprinted toward the young warriors that had killed his family.

- - - - - - - -

"I understand." Vornaldea replied into the communications uplink. "We have little time to organize an affective countermeasure. It would appear that the Mirratord will be our swiftest option. Simyaldee and the others are on their way to your lines. Send up a Phantom and active com channels for direct communications."

The communication ended and Vornaldea lifted his hand to the wound upon his neck. Why had he not seen this coming? How could the watchmen rally such a large number of troops in such a short amount of time? He looked up and watched as Simyladee and ten Mirratord warriors began to board a nearby Phantom, to take them closer to the valley on the far side of the Inner Sanctum.

Behind Simyaldee he saw the young Mirratord Gridolee, "Wait! Stay here with me. There is much I need to discuss with you." Gridolee turned and hesitated, but Simyaldee gave him a sharp nod. Gridolee understood, Vornaldea was the head of the high council, and his words were the law to the Mirratord. Simyaldee and the others were quickly lifted into the Phantom and sped off to the far side of the city. Gridolee watched as they departed and then walked back to Vornaldea's side.

"I know that combat has called to you, young one. But I must know why the young are doing this."

"I told the Second everything I know, elder."

"Yes, he told me in his last report, but what I fail to see is why. Why would the young believe the prophets more then the high council? Your father served the high council and the Mirratord well, but because of him you are now the youngest warrior ever to enter the ways of the Mirratord. You would have been a watchman now, had not your bloodline been so pure. Most of those young are your friends and classmates, yet you would go to fight them. Tell me Lieutenant Gridolee, what more did the prophets promise our young? What has brought them to this betrayal?"

Gridolee could only hold his head low, the days of the academy flashing before his eyes. So many sermons, combat teachings, mysterious of the great journey, and the prophecies. His academy days were spent yearning for battle, dreaming of tearing away the skull of humans and posting thm upon his walls. The memories of what combat was. The memory of prophets telling him what was wrong and what was right; all lies…

- - - - - - - -

The Prophet of Signs entered a small amphitheater, floating across the stage in his small chair. Long ago he lost the use of his legs, but his teachings were the most honored of all the academy prophets, and thus he had earned the right to have a floating throne. Considered a lesser prophet, Signs was head of the academy on Dorenth and instructed the young watchmen on how to understand the Gods. For more then five years he headed the academy and changed everything the watchmen learned. Signs' teachings were new to the elite instructors of combat and conditioning within the academy, but the high Prophet of Truth had told them all to obey his orders and take heed to his words.

Like every sermon that Signs spoke, he ordered the instructors to leave the amphitheater so that he may speak directly to the youth. For three years these young warriors had been listening to Sign's sermons and teachings on what is right and wrong, and the will of the Gods.

Lifting his frail hands to silence the young, "Another week has passed young watchmen. You have learned to battle with your kin. You have learned to hate those that are heretics and defilers of the Sacred Rings. Oh young watchmen, there are troubling signs in your future. The elite High Council has kept secrets from us, many dark and mysterious secrets that the Gods are not pleased with. Have we not given you power? Have we not given you possessions and an easier life?"

Silence filled the room, much to Signs' liking, "You are the future of the elite, the future leaders of this once great race. But now, the Gods are not happy. Was it not the elites that stopped the Grunt rebellion? But now, another rebellion looms in the future. The Gods summoned a mighty Arbiter to smite the first rebellion, but this time an Arbiter will not be enough."

"Oh young watchmen, I have told you of many lesser species, none so low as the grunt. The Gods give them no strength, and only in great numbers can they fight. They breed like insects and animals, dozens born at a time. How can these lowly creatures ever fight with the honor of an elite? But I say to you young watchmen, I have seen it. The Gods have shown me yet another sign, and it is a sign of your downfall. You watchmen who have trained to prepare for battle, you who have sweat and studied so that you to can fight against the vile humans. I say to you that you will not see battle, you will not. You will be left here as a grunt leader with the honor of an elite rises to take your place in battle."

A wave of mumbles filled the amphitheater as the young warriors gasped in shock at Signs' words. So young they were, so impressionable, and so stupid. Signs smirked within himself at the outcries, pleased that they were all believing his words.

"This grunt will lead an army of grunts, taking the glory of the elites. He will take the favor of the Gods, and the Gods will not welcome any of the elites on the Great Journey."

Roars erupted from the young watchmen sitting in the amphitheater. Disgust and hatred was being spat from their lips.

"But be ye not dismayed, for there is hope. This can not be all blamed upon the grunts, for they are like any creature and hope for a better life. But you must consider the ways of the elite high council. As I told you, they have kept many secrets from us. But we wish not to pry in elite affairs unless it involves the great journey. The high council knows that a possible new threat to the will of the Gods has been born, but they have yet to act upon it. I fear that the high council is now blind to the will of the Gods. And this blindness may bring down the honor of the elites."

"I say to you that I pray that these events do not happen. That I am mistaken in my vision of the future and that the honor of the elites will last to the day of the Great Journey. But what must be done if these visions do arise? How can you, protect the honor of the elites? It is simple. The grunt must not receive any honor from the elites. But the council may try to protect this lowly creature. If that is true, then your elders will doom you all in their own blindness. I have taught many of you, instructed several of you personally, and I would hate to see the Gods cast down the elites. If the elite high council can not be stopped then there is little I can do, but to lift up a Sermon for you watchman that turn away from the high council's heresy. If this day comes, turn away from the elite high council. I pray you will all heed my words and take them into your hearts. I shall speak to you all again next week."

Many discussions erupted throughout the hundreds of gathered watchmen. All of them confused and tormented by Signs' words. He floated off the stage and smiled to himself as he neared the ramp leading off of the stage, and a larger smile crossed his face as the acdemies number one pupil approached him. The young warrior knelt to one knee, and hung his head low in honor of the prophet.

"Rise young Gridolee. I felt that you would come and see me before you left." Signs sighed.

Gridolee stood to his feet and fastened his robe, "Honorable Prophet, your sermon today…"

"Honorable, am I? Gridolee, you flatter me, but I am not worthy of such praise. I have told you countless times to simply call me Signs."

The two began to walk out of the Amphitheater's rear door and continued to talk, "Forgive me Signs, but I feel that you are so much more to me. But alas, is it true, today sermons?"

"I am not sure, Gridolee." Signs replied as he hung his head low. "The Gods have shown me many things, and very rarely are they incorrect. But enough, you have nothing to fear of this. Surely you will do what is right when the time comes. My sermon will lift you, and you will be my personal protector during the Great Journey." With a curt smile Sign patted Gridolee on the shoulder.

"Without hesitation, Signs. I will do what I must to ensure our place within the Great Journey."

"Indeed. So the high council has decided to pull you from the academy?"

"Yes, they say that I am already worthy of battle. I will be assigned to the Holy Prophet of Regret's battle group, once my training is complete."

"Training?" Signs smirked at the word.

"Yes, they would not tell me what form of training, but I will be off to Jogrennilee at nightfall."

"Then may the Gods protect you in your battles. You are the largest and strongest elite I have ever encountered, and surely, many humans will die by your hands." Signs knew that he had stocked Gridolee's ego with that statement. He could see the glow of pride and a gloating smirk upon his face. "You are the academies number one pupil. You will bring great success to Regret's fleet."

Blushingly, the young Gridolee responded, "Your words humble me, Signs."

"Might I ask you for a favor, Gridolee? Something that will help ensure the elites' place within the Great Journey."

"I would do anything for my brothers."

Signs reached into his throne, pulled up a small silver crystal and handed it to Gridolee, "Within this data crystal is a private channel to me. It can record anything you say, and when you are ready you can simply insert it into a communications uplink. It will automatically encrypt it and send your transmissions directly to me. If we knew what the elite high council was keeping from us, perhaps we could circumvent it, and prevent the elites from falling."

Gridolee examined the crystal and then looked back to Signs, "Are you asking me to spy on the high council?"

"I simply ask that you think of what is right. You have the crystal and the decision to use it is up to you."

A few moments later, Signs entered his private quarters within the academy and released a heavy sigh. He had set things in motion, but the chance of the plan succeeding was thin. His terminal buzzed and he glanced upward at his view screen.

"Greetings signs, I take it that this line is private?" The aged elite stated before him.

"Yes Mercy, as always."

"Good." The Prophet of Mercy smiled. "The DNA of the grunt king has been transferred to a fertile female. By the time I arrive at High Charity he will be born."

"This is a risky plan, even for Truth. How can he be sure that this grunt will indeed fallow in his father's footsteps?"

"This grunt is a direct lineage of the Forerunners' DNA. He will grow to be a natural leader and his skill will be unlike anything ordinary elites have ever seen. They will respect him on the battlefield, just as his father nearly received honor so many years ago, the same thing will happen. He will be offered to take the elite trials."

"And because of my sermon and teachings, the watchmen will not sit idly by and do nothing. Another rebellion will begin."

Mercy agreed, "Yes and the Elites will be divided. They will never have time to fully understand our goals, and by the time they discover that they have been tricked, the firing of he Halos will erase them from existence."

- - - - - - - -

Vornaldea looked down to Gridolee, as the young warrior wept in shame at his feet. Gridolee had betrayed the elders and the High Council; he was a traitor that was fooled in the ignorance of his youth.

Vornaldea placed a hand upon Gridolee's head, "How much did you tell Signs?"

Without looking up and through heavy sobs, "I told him everything about the Mirratord. How long we have existed, the Heretics… everything. My last transmission was when we arrived within Sangheili space two days ago."

"Signs left Dorenth more then two weeks ago. Did you speak to him at all after that?"

"Yes, he always replied with praises for me, until we arrived at Earth. I believe that was his last transmission to me, but I continued to send him information."

"When you arrived on Earth?"

"Yes, after Regret's ship left, they were defenseless. We attacked several hours later..."

Vornaldea cut across Gridolee, "That day. That was the day the brutes began their attack."

- - - - - - - -

Elite Flag Ship; Knight and Piercing Arrow  
05:32 October 26, 2552  
Dorenth/ High Orbit

Sleeping was not an option for Ship Master Timnaldee. He had just spent the last few hours debating with the human captain on the matters of the Arbiter. Apparently, not only had the remaining forces of the Covenant arrived on Earth, but flood controlled ships were also arriving there. How had the flood spread so wildly? How could so many Covenant controlled ships be under the control of the flood? So many, in fact, that they could send ships to Dorenth and Earth. Is it possible that High Charity had not been destroyed? Or even worse, the Covenant armada was not obliterated in its destruction.

Pulling Timnaldee from his deep thoughts, the ships communicator shouted, "Sir, incoming transmission from Bladra, they are requesting support. The flood have overwhelmed their positions and are threatening to break into the tram tunnel to the Inner Sanctum."

"Cursed parasite." Timnaldee barked beneath his breath. "Are there any ground troops within the area that can arrive in time?"

"No sir, I've tried contacting them, but no reply. I fear they've been overrun."

"We have no choice then. Contact High Elder Vornaldea and tell him that we are going to open fire on Bladra from orbit and permanently seal that tram tunnel."

"Sir, we have troops still in the city…"

"I understand. Tell them to retreat deeper into the tunnel and verify that we have sealed it. Also tell Vornaldea to send reinforcements into the tram tunnel toward Bladra. Helm, organize our wing ships and put us directly over Bladra, and tell all ships to prepare plasma cannons." A cold feeling crept into Timnaldee's stomach. No other elite captain had ever fired upon Dorenth, and it pained him to be the first, but if the city was destroyed by plasma fire it would take the flood decades to dig through. The plasma cannons were perfect for this, because they melted and forged everything on the ground. The plasma cannons would melt the rocks, stone, and dirt into a polished glassy layer of sediment several meters thick. The humans called it 'Glassing a world' and it was a fiting title. Once they began to fire, nothing would survive.

- - - - - - - -

"This has not been a good day." Vornaldea sighed into the communications uplink. "I can not spare any troops toward the Bladra tram tunnel, at least not now. The watchmen have turned against us and are attacking from that section of tunnels. We are cut off from supplying support until we have dealt with our young. Once we have dealt with them, we will send troops."

Ship master Timnaldee suddenly erupted through the com line, "Say again, elder. The watchmen. What has become of our young?"

"It saddens me to say it myself, but the prophets' lies and treachery have spread deeper then we could have ever known. They turned our young against us."

"I understand… I will do what I can. Please… elder, if there is a peaceful way to stop the watchmen…"

"I will do what I must, Captain." Vornaldea replied with a heavy tone. He knew what Timnaldee wanted, his child was a watchman, but by now the Mirratord was already attacking the young. The Mirratord did not discern friend from foe, they simply followed orders, and by now there would be no way of stopping them.

"Very well, I will report when the bombardment is complete." The communication ended and Vornaldea watched as Gridolee lowered his head again.

"He was worried about his young?" Gridolee asked.

"Yes." Vornaldea stood from his seat and walked toward a nearby table. Upon the table was a computer terminal detailing a holographic map of the Inner Sanctum. He had to prepare for the next possible step. He had to begin preparing for the possibility of the flood entering the Inner Sanctum.

- - - - - - - -

Deep blue blood stained the streets near the edge of the city. Smoldering wraith tanks outlined the distant hills of the valley. Two wounded Dabdoughs grazed on the corpses of the dead, while their tattered flags dragged behind them. Two hundred or more elite bodies littered the edge of the city, most gripping energy swords that were too heavy for them to lift. Children, lost because of the lies of a dark and sinister race. Again the prophets had mortally wounded the elites, but this time the pain was in their hearts.

Twenty Mirratord warriors, staggering throughout the battlefield, began sluggishly walking back toward the city. The blood of the young stained their armor and tears flowed down there faces. This was a battle that would never be recorded, never shared with the future youth, but it would also never be forgotten. The watchmen died so easily at the hands of the twenty Mirratord warriors, and the only elite to die was elder Dradowee. He had fought and killed four watchmen before he was overwhelmed. The elder was skilled but did not possess the skill of a Mirratord warrior.

Simyaldee walked the field and let the smell of blood fill his nostrils. He found no honor in killing the young, but this generation of watchmen was no longer followers of the elite way of life. They were pawns of the prophets, and in his eyes they were the enemy. Simyaldee was battle hardened, seen death on many worlds, and lost many comrades, but this day would still be the darkest day of his life. They were his enemies, and as second in command of the Mirratord he could not hesitate. The warriors under his command needed to take this attack seriously, and he had to lead them as if nothing mattered.

Simyaldee froze as he neared the body of a beheaded youth. He remembered the young ones whimper as he struggled to lift the plasma rifle. The young watchman was in his first year of the academy, and that meant that he was no older then eleven.

Simyaldees recalled the encounter. His twin blades were swinging with pinpoint accuracy as he sliced through a wave of senior watchmen. They were moderate warriors and had descent aim with their plasma rifles, but Simyaldee's Mirratord shields protected him easily; he didn't bother trying to dodge the shots. With one swing of his left hand he had cut down two of them, sending their corpses tumbling to the ground. He then jumped behind the other three and tripped them with his foot. As they fell he struck each one with his blades. The better of the three young warriors was able to dodge his first swing, and lunged at him. The young warrior died in Simyaldee's arms as he stabbed the young watchman in mid air. It was then that he heard the footsteps of the young first year academy watchman coming up behind him. Simyaldee turned, blade ready and glared the young elite in the eyes. The first year watchmen could barely hold the plasma rifle in both hands, and as he raised the rifle he said three words;

"Prophets, protect me."

Simyaldee reacted instantly, severing the boys head from his torso. A slight whimper left his tiny mandibles just as the blade struck his neck, and Simyaldee continued on, fighting the others without remorse.

The body still lay there, clasping the plasma rifle in his hands. Simyaldee looked for the young ones head, and then removed his helmet. A shudder filled his spine as he gazed upon the young elites face. He knew this child.

A warrior, trained to kill and obey orders. Simyaldee was the Second, the second in command and the second best warrior of the Mirratord. He was the right hand of the high council and he personally had killed more then fifty of the young watchmen; the future warriors of the elites. This child that he had slain was like a son to him, it was his best friend's offspring and only child. Never to show emotion during battle, Simyaldee took the helmet and began to walk away from the bodies that littered the ground. As he looked up, toward the city, he could see that the females were coming out to see the dismay. Shrieks of horror filled their cries as some ran out to find their young. How many of them would be able to find their offspring amongst the dead? They were all running out to find their child, lying lifeless in a pool of his own blood, and then to know that this child was coming to kill the elders.

Sobs and moans filled the air as Simyaldee continued to walk back to the city, and before long all twenty of his Mirratord warriors had begun to follow him. Each of them held something in their hands, something they didn't want the others to see. They each carried something that would remind them that the prophets and brutes would pay for this day. They held in their hands pieces of armor, helmets, and even weapons from the battle. But Simyaldee didn't care, because this wasn't a normal battle and the normal rules of looting the dead didn't apply. He thought again and realized the he couldn't really say it was looting. But no matter, he had his own demon to deal with in the shape of a tiny blue helmet. How would he tell his life long friend of these events? How would he tell Captain Timnaldee that he had killed his son?

- - - - - - - -

Eric and Melanie looked closer at the body, puzzled. There was no denying that it was still moving, but how? Neither of them wanted to get closer to find out, but somehow, the body of Domadree was still twitching even though his head was split and a massive wound lined his chest.

"Is he alive?" Melanie asked, gazing down at the body. The jostling footsteps of a grunt caught Eric and Melanie's attention. Palab waddled close, his nose sniffing the air.

"He not alive, is he?" Palab questioned, but his question went unanswered. "Me see body earlier, but leave it for clean up team. It not move then."

"We know about as much as you do, sergeant." Melanie stated. More footsteps approached from the direction of the Tram Station doors.

"19, we contacted all squad leaders and passed on the word. The Rogue Fantasy will deploy all pelicans ASAP. We can clear out the marines within fifteen minutes. As orders, ODST will stay behind to assist us." Justin 14 stated to the group. Beside him stood the other Black Ops and each had their weapons armored and ready.

Palab curiously looked at the group, "What happening?"

"We're pulling out, Palab." Eric stated as he turned away from Domadree's body. "The flood have completely overrun this world, save for this area. I'm not going to let my men die for the elites. Once my marines have been lifted from the planet, me and the Black Ops are going to take the seed installation away from this world. You and your grunts are more then welcome to join us."

Palab thought about it for a split second, "What need of me?"

"For now, maintain the perimeter and keep the flood off our asses. If they break in while were loading up, we're screwed."

Sammy 13 sighed softly, "FUBAR." Each of the Black Ops agreed.

"What mean FUBAR?" Palab annoyingly questioned. He was eager to know what the words meant.

"Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition." Melanie answered. "Basically it means we're screwed." Palab thought on the words and was happy to finally know what it meant, but he also knew that these words weren't a good thing.

"Once the marines have been evacuated, pull your grunts into the tram tunnel." Eric added.

"Elites not allow grunts into Inner Sanctum. They'd rather kill grunts first."

"Don't worry about the elites, just get into the tram station. They'll let you in, or we'll fight our way in."

Melanie 05 tightened her chest armor, and pulled down her helmet's face plate. Her persona changed and her Black Ops armor gave her the look of a darkly clad ODST. With the exception that there was no grey upon the Black Ops armor, the armor looked nearly identical to ODST armor. Unlike the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, the Black Ops were augmented soldiers and the modified ODST armor felt as light as standard military fatigues, even though the combined weight of the armor was well over forty pounds.

Melanie opened a channel to Eric's private frequency, "You sure about this? It's going to be hard enough taking that ship from the Elite Mirratord. How do you plan to do this with a thousand grunts running behind us?"

Eric flipped down his helmet visor and replied, "Simple. We're going to do this with a thousand grunts running behind us. Not even the Mirratord are crazy enough to fight those numbers." Eric popped his visor up and looked at Palab. "We may have to fight the elites, sergeant. Some of your grunts may not make it."

"To be free, grunts fight." Palab voiced. "Me go prepare pack leaders, tell them what happen soon. Me trust humans, but me hope that some elites understand. Elite world doomed." Palab turned and began to run toward the front lines and addressed his grunts about the plan. The grunts now stood alone, without the watchful eyes of elites. Only the human Black Ops and the grunts stood beyond the Tram Station doors. This was the affect of Gridolee being defeated by Palab. Gridolee was ordered to take all of his elites inside the tram station, leaving only the grunts to keep a watchful eye out for flood activity.

"What about Domadree?" Melanie questioned. Her static filled burst cutting into the Black Ops' squad ears. "I can only imagine the hell he's going through right now."

"I'll end it." Eric stated to the squad. "05, take the squad back into the Tram Station and be ready to send out the marines when those pelicans arrive." The Black Ops quickly began to run toward the tram station. Eric noticed that the mixed black and grey armor of the ODST waited for them at the tram station's doors. He then turned his attention back to Domadree.

"Sorry about this, Domadree, but if you are alive, I'm sure you'd rather be dead." Eric reached into his pant pocket and pulled out one of the hilts to his Mirratord energy sword. The controlled energy exploded from the hilt and Eric stabbed downward into Domadree's chest, where his heart would be. The sword ripped through the slowly decaying skin and the chest burst open with a green haze. The spores exploded into the air as tentacles swung in all directions. Eric was able to jump back, swinging the sword in such a fashion that he was able to cut off one of the tentacles. "Shit!" Eric cursed as he rolled backwards, avoiding the tentacle that slammed near his feet. Another tentacle swung across his head, and Eric had to retreat again. If this was a flood form, it was unlike anything documented by the Spartans. Eric held his ground after retreating more then twenty feet from Domadree's body, or what was left of it. Five massive tentacles, impossible in size, stretched from his body and began to drag Domadree away from the tram station, toward the grunt controlled perimeter.

A deep echoing voice emerged from the body, "_Dead? No Sergeant, I live and I shall not die. Freed of the parasite that controlled me, I lay and grow, but now you threaten my rest. I understand it all now, I see beyond the limits of my flesh. My life can not be ended now, I must live, I must thrive and grow. A brain is near, much knowledge of those who came before. It knows of Mercy and Truth, of the Rings and of the Ark. Much knowledge it contains. I am not complete, I am not whole, I need more bodies to grow."_

The spores that flowed from Domadree's body made Eric gag, and he pulled down his helmet visor and turned on his air regulator, "Domadree?"

"_Domadree? Yes that was my name. I was an elite warrior, a Mirratord."_ The tentacles neared the front line, but Eric followed closely. The grunts all panicked as they looked at the small ball of tentacles and some began to fire at it.

One of the grunts cried out, "Very bad thing!"

"Hold your fire, and clear a path!" Eric shouted to the grunts. Nervously they all obeyed. Eric wanted to kill it, but he wanted to hear what else it had to say, cautiously he pulled a plasma grenade from his belt and held it in his left hand behind his back, hoping that the creature didn't have eyes.

"_My bloodline was that of a forerunner, a descendant of the very creatures that have made me what I am now. The knowledge of the spores, and the joining of my body has awakened me, and no longer am I simply a fragile body of flesh and faith and bone. I am more. The brain is near, I can taste its knowledge. And when I have taken that knowledge I will grow, I will grow stronger, and I will take the Seed."_ The pile of tentacles began to pull itself through the rows of shields. _"Leave this world. Seek out those that would activate the Rings. Leave the seed for me, sergeant. There is still time to save yourself."_

"Give you the Seed? Not a chance in hell." Eric primed the plasma grenade and threw it straight at the base of the tentacles. A roar bellowed from within it as the grenade came closer and a tentacle blocked its course. The plasma grenade stuck to the tentacle and it extended away from the explosion. The grenade detonated and sent green organic mass scattering throughout the area, as the voice shrieked in pain. Once the dust settled Eric could no longer see the mass of tentacles through the twilight of the early morning. His ears then caught the sound of incoming pelicans as the line of birds soared into the area.

As if on cue, Eric could hear dozens of footsteps behind him, marines running to board the ships. Eric powered down the energy sword and hefted his battle riffle. He looked through the scope, peering into the area that the creature was heading toward, but there was no sign of it.

"First bird loaded Sergeant, second bird coming in." Juggernaut stated over the com channel.

"Roger that, Juggernaut. Keep me posted when all pick ups are complete." Eric then changed frequency. "05 and 02 head to the east and west perimeter and pull in the grunts, I'll hold the north line until all the birds are away."

A familiar static burst cut into Eric's com channel as a Captain Monroe stated, "Sergeant. Flood activity has intensified across the world. The elite flag ship is now glassing a city forty kilometers north of your position."

Another familiar female voice crossed the channel, "Also, sergeant, be advised that if the flood have breached that city there is a strong chance that they will break into the Inner Sanctum. Those Tram tunnels are all interconnected and that city is similar to Jogrennilee in that it has a direct connection to the Inner Sanctum. It connects near the caves where you took the trials." Siren's knowledgeable words made Eric concerned about this mission's success.

"Thanks for the warning, Siren. 19 out." A static burst ended the transmission and Eric continued to pear into the area. The sun was slowly rising but the shadows of the city skyscrapers continued to create massive walls of darkness.

- - - - - - - -

A mass of elite combat forms walked from the shadows carrying the oversized husk of the brain from. The brain form gazed at the Tram Station, but not through its own eyes. A dead elite body provided the brain form with the vision it needed to see the area. Human Pelicans soared over head as more and more sunlight began to fill the region.

"_The leader is near. Their he awaits with more knowledge, to complete us. To feed us and show us the seed." _

Without much warning the combat forms dropped the massive flood brain form and fled from the area. They all shrieked in terror as they ran. Two combat forms remained and in each hand they held weapons looking for what had scared the others. They then found the creature of tentacles and began firing at it with plasma weapons. A tentacle slammed against the first combat form, smashing it against the ground. The other combat form attempted to run but a tentacle slapped against it, smashing it into a dust of green gore.

"_Another of the first. Another of the creators. You have come to take me? You have come to consume me?"_ The brain form questioned with a nervous whimper, as if it feared what would become of it. _"I gave you knowledge, but it was not wise. The blood of an ancient past fills you. You will not control my kind."_

A tentacle stabbed into the massive fluid filled brain form and silenced it.

"_From the ancient times, I was born. Placed into a shell that could not contain me, or use me. I know my lineage, I know my purpose… they will suffer and those that came before will not return. Our food will not be destroyed again. You have knowledge, I will claim that which you have._" The tentacle pulled the oozing husk of flesh toward the base of its tentacles and slowly began to absorb the brain form and knowledge contained within it. A small green flap emerged from the base of the tentacles and it parted into two halves; a mouth. From its mouth it spat more thick green gas into the air and the flood combat forms that were once afraid began to be drawn toward the thick green mist. _"My spores sustain you, so long as I feed, I shall sustain you. I must grow, I must have the seed. The sergeant will protect the Seed therefore he must die. I must flee from this world with the Seed, and I must destroy those that would activate the rings. There is still time to feed. Time to stop those that would bring back those of the past, those that created us and then wanted us destroyed."_

_**To be continued…**_


	20. The bigger they are…

**Stage 20: The bigger they are…**

Jogrennilee  
06:15 October 26, 2552  
Tram Station exterior

Melanie stepped to the door as the eighteenth pelican spun to reveal its cargo hold. She stepped to the right of the Tram Station door and scanned the field with her rifle. Roy 02 stepped out as well, covering the left side of the door. Sammy 13 stepped to the edge of the door, her battle rifle low and her eyes gazed upon the rear hatch of the pelican as it lowered.

"Alright boys, get moving!" Sammy shouted to the next batch of marines to be evacuated from the planet. "Move it, damn it! I don't have all day to wait for your sorry asses to get in gear! Move now or get dead! Go, go, go!" Twenty marines sprinted toward the pelican as it reached its maximum decent level of five feet. Even though there was no incoming fire each marine ran with a bent knee, low posture in case of enemy fire; standard procedure for evacuation situations. Within two minutes all twenty soldiers had loaded the pelican and the bird began to rise. "Juggernaut, eighteen done and gone, send in bird 19." Sammy stated into her com channel.

"Roger that." Juggernaut replied.

Sammy switched channels, "05, 02, fall back and prep for next bird."

"Roger that." Two replies came over the com channel. Sammy held her battle riffle at eye level and gazed down the barrel as Roy 02 and Melanie 05 duck walked backwards toward the door. Once at the door they turned and ran inside.

An elite approached, "Are you not taking these evacuations too seriously, humans?"

Melanie stepped close the elite, "When the lives of our men is in jeopardy, we take everything seriously."

"Very well, I understand completely. Allow me to assist. Your knowledge and preparation of combat is honorable. Me and my unit wish to help and join your ranks under the command of Sergeant Raynord, the honored human warrior."

The five black ops looked at each other with a curious gaze. The ten elite warriors in the distance wore grey armor, rangers within the elite ranks, and they wanted to team up the Black Ops.

"I'll have to take that up with 19… the one you call Sergeant Raynord." Melanie 05 stated. "But for now, just hold here."

"I understand. If battle calls, we will assist." The elite turned and walked away.

Sammy 13 opened a private channel to the rest of the Black Ops squad, and spoke only within her helmet communicator. "Are they serious about joining up with us?"

"I never knew the elites would trust us so easily." Justin 14 replied.

"Cut the chatter, dogs." Melanie 05 cut in. "19 did you copy that?"

Eric softly replied from his prone position outside, "Roger. No telling how those elites will respond when we hit that tunnel with the grunts. Watch them close, but don't respond yet. We'll deal with it once the last pelican is off."

"Bird 19 is inbound." Melanie stated over the com. "Killing the channel, 19. Out." Sammy disconnected the squad communication channel and then looked to Mathew 08 and Sammy 13. "You two are out on guard, move out." 08 and 13 leveled their rifles as the bird descended and crouch walked to their cover positions. The rear cargo hatch lowered and the bird prepared to receive its visitors.

Eric could hear the bird lowering behind him but he let his squad handle the loading work. He new there was something worse to be feared. That thing that was once Domadree, was out there somewhere, and it said it would be back for the Seed. Eric wasn't about to let his guard down. His squad depended on his eyes. He lay prone on the ground scanning the now completely sun filled area with the scope of his battle rifle. Ahead of him were several grunt packs, taking turns sleeping and patrolling. Behind him he heard the hum of he pelican begin to add more power to the engines and then fly from the area. One last bird and they could pull back to the tram station and make plans to take the Seed ship.

From the corner of his eyes Eric spotted the pelican soaring above the skyline, but something else caught his eye. Something was moving on the top of the skyscraper, and it was massive. The pelican rose above the skyscraper and a large green tree struck the base of it. A distant explosion rocked across Eric's ears as the pelican, filled with marines, exploded.

"NO!" Eric screamed as he jumped to his feet. The nearby grunts sprang to life, nervously pointing their weapons in all directions. "Juggernaut reroute pelicans clear of the northern skyscrapers! Copy? Copy, Damn it!"

"Sergeant I just lost 159!" Juggernaut replied over the communication channel. "What the hell is happening down there?"

"Juggernaut, we have a hostile moving in from the north. Hostile is a threat to Pelicans. I'm ordering you to abort final pickup. Call off the last pelican. We'll get the rest of the troops out with us. 19 out."

"Good hunting sir. I'll see you all in orbit."

"Palab, pull the grunts back now." Eric shouted to the front line, but his eyes also took notice that the massive tentacles were now moving toward the front line. They were long, insanely long and overwhelmingly fast. Eric looked forward and the grunts were in full retreat back to the Tram Station but some of them began heaving grenades at the massive tentacles that were slithering toward the front line.

"Me troops all retreat, but Mirratord grunts faster. They stay as long as can." Palad huffed as he sat on the ground beside Eric's legs. Seven tentacles were quickly approaching but there was no way to tell from which direction they were coming from.

"Get them out of there, Sergeant." Eric tapped his helmet and opened another channel. "05, tell the elites to form up the hunters and add those rangers to our ranks. Everyone out here, now!"

Palab's Mirratord grunts ran passed, and Eric and Palab sprinted behind them as the monstrous creature finally appeared from behind a building.

"What the hell is that?" Melanie questioned as she gazed out the tram station doors.

"05, order the Marines and ODST into the tram tunnel! Get those hunters outside, now damn it!" Eric barked over the com channel. The Black Ops lay slack jawed, gazing out the door in a confused fascination. Eric lifted his rifle and sent a round at the door. The bullets hit the wall and each of the Black Ops snapped to attention.

"Marines and ODST, retreat! Elite rangers, join the party and bring all of the hunters to the door! Move like you have a purpose people!" Melanie 05 screamed her orders as she exited the tram station. Grunts sprinted past her but the occasional few remained behind, aiming their needlers at the oncoming threat.

Eric neared the door and turned, bringing his battle rifle to bear on the creature's center bulb. The elites and other Black Ops stood at Eric and Melanie's side, all fretfully afraid of what was coming. A green mist floated above the center of the massive bulb at the center of the tentacles, and it opened its mouth to speak.

"_A chance to flee is what I gave you."_ The monstrous creature's voice echoed across the region as twenty hunters began exiting the tram station and formed a line in front of the Black Ops and elites. The hunters roared a battle cry as their armor clanged.

"Hold the line here! Let the creature come to us." One of the elites roared to the hunter pairs.

Eric then turned to the elites and grunts at his side, "We need to slow it down until we can get the marines and grunts into the tunnel. When it gets close enough, we retreat back into the station and unleash our care package."

"OOH RAH!" Barked the Black ops.

"05, prep the package!" Eric ordered.

"Already ahead of you, 19." Melanie 05 stated as she pulled the trigger from her pocket and made sure that the detonator was charged at ready. "My booms are always ready!"

"That was dirty, 05." Sammy 13 laughed, eager to help the squad relax.

"_You stand in defiance of my warning. You stand against me. You have chosen your alliance and formed your pack, but you do not concern yourselves with those that threaten your existence. You choose your battles poorly. I shall not be denied of my prize."_ The creature came into full view. Its form was nearly seven stories tall with tentacles that seemed to stretch for miles.

Eric gasped at how fast the creature had grown in size.

Mathew 08 then added, "What is that thing talking about? It's making my head hurt with all that weird talk."

"Well then lest shut it up." Eric grinned. "Open up!" A roar of riffle fire, plasma bursts and needler round exploded from weapons of everyone near the Tram Station door. The hunters massive cannons then poured their concentrated beams of plasma radation upon the closest tentacle, melting it, but another quickly took its place and came closer. With each tentacle that was destroyed another took its place and came closer to the station.

"_Such useless attempts. Such needless actions. My goal is beyond you, and I shall not be stopped." _

Wesley opened the tram station door and gazed down the barrel of his sniper rifle, "Sergeant, the tram station is empty. Everyone's in the tunnel!" Wesley fired a round at the massive creature's mouth and it hit dead on, but the creature didn't react. "Damn it! Is that thing a flood!"

Eric then yelled over the weapons fire, "Private get back into the station and secure that tunnel entrance. If we don't pull back in time, close it."

"Sir?" Wesley questioned toward Eric's order.

Justin 14 was close to Wesley and he gripped him by the shoulder. Justin began to push him back into the doors.

"Move your ass, Private! The CO gave an order and you don't question it!" Wesley staggered from the man's incredible strength and slowly regained his balance. Wesley then turned around and watched as Justin 14 walked away. He slowly began to walk backwards toward the tunnel, watching the action happening outside. Justin rejoined the firing squad and they all continued to unleash their arsenal as the creature pressed closer and closer.

Plasma and artillery slammed into the bulbous center of the creature, chopping away layers of green flesh, but the creature continued to pull itself toward the tram station. Soon the bottom half of its mouth began to wear away from the constant bombardment of human and elite weapons fire. The creature's bottom jaw twisted and tore away, slamming into the ground beneath it, but it didn't slow its progress. A tentacle slammed against the top of the tram station, startling everyone. It was nearly twelve inches in diameter and covered with a green outer skin. The tentacle wrapped itself onto the building and quickly began to pull the creature closer.

"Shit!" Eric cursed in his standard sign of shock. "Fall back to line two, full retreat!" There was no time for standard cover fire. The creature was coming, and coming faster because of its grip on the building. Like an arm, the tentacle was pulling the massive creature toward the Tram Station, dragging its massive bulk of rotting flesh and towering tentacles across the ground. The rows of shield bunkers quickly faded beneath the creature's mass as rubble and dust was scatter to and fro.

Eric and Palab were the last to enter the station and Eric quickly sealed the outer door. Eric was not sure what type of glass the elites used to construct their Tram Station, but he hoped it was thick enough to buy him and his squad some time to get to the tunnel.

"05 set off the mine field!" Eric screamed as he turned and raced across the Tram Station dock. Melanie was nearly forty yards ahead of him, but she heard his order through her helmet communicator. As always, she knew his order was going to come and had already pulled the trigger out of her pocket. She slowly began to turn around, looking to see where Eric was, as she primed the small pistol detonator in her hand. Eric and Palab were racing toward her in a full sprint. She knew Eric's best sprint time, he could run forty yards in under four seconds flat, but he wasn't far enough away from the door in order for her to trigger the Lotus field beyond the door. He was still to close to the blast radius.

Time seemed to come to a stand still as a tentacle burst through the window. There was no longer any time, and after three seconds Melanie pressed the trigger. A growl of compressed air suddenly engulfed the area beyond the window, and all Melanie could do was watch as Eric and Palab were rocked off their feet by the shockwave. The glass of the Tram Station shattered in an instant and dust quickly filed the station. The shockwave then reached Melanie and she braced herself as compressed air exploded across her chest. Once the shockwave knocked her backward off of her feet, she was then engulfed in a dark world of dust. The thundering echo of the Lotus Antitank mines outside filled her ears. Fifty of the underground mines littered the ground and it was hoped that they wouldn't need to be used; a last stand measure.

Melanie fought against the daze that had consumed her as her helmet communicator began to buzz with activity. The other Black Ops were all checking in, trying to find each other in the darkness. Melanie drowned out the ringing in her ears, even though she loved the sound, and focused on the voices. She could hear Justin 14, Roy 02, Sammy 13, and Mathew 08 all checking in and sounding off their locations, but nothing came from Eric. She wanted to toss up her helmet visor and yell to him, but not everyone was as accustomed to explosion deafness the way she was; the ringing in Eric's ears would drown out her cries. She switched to inferred; too much dust and charged particles in the air. She then tried night vision, and got a better picture, but still too much grey and black. Worst of all there was no movement.

"19, do you copy?" Melanie stated into her com. The other Black Ops also heard her plea. They all began to push through the debris and rubble toward the door. Melanie tried to stay calm and quickly did the math in her head. She calculated Eric's mass, the pressure from the explosion, Eric's rate of speed, and the resistance in the air. She looked to the ground, nearly sixty five feet from where she last saw Eric and began to move debris, dirt and green tentacle chunks, and found the body of an unconscious man. Her calculation was dead on. Sammy quickly ran to her side.

"He's out cold." Sammy stated as she plugged her medical scanner into Eric's suit. "Vitals are steady, but I think he's got a concussion."

Melanie sighed in relief but something moved near the obliterated entrance. She turned and saw a tentacle slowly churning its way from beneath a pile of rubble. The door was completely destroyed and the sun finally glared through the dust. Melanie switched back to normal vision and could clearly see that the creature was wounded but not dead. She then saw as parts of the creature began to grow at an alarming rate.

"We have to move him! 02 and 14, get him up and into the tunnel. 13 and 08 get to the tunnel door and prepare to give us cover fire! Hunters form a line at the tunnel entrance. Elites, help me find Sergeant Palab." Sammy 13 and Mathew 08 turned and raced to the Tram Tunnel as the hunters quickly formed a line behind her.

Within a few seconds, "We have the grunt." An elite roared as he lifted Palab from beneath a door frame.

Sammy turned and yelled to the elites, "get back here, now!" as she saw what Melanie had first glanced. The creature was slowly pulling its massive form into the destroyed area of the Tram Station. Its mass was greatly reduced by the Lotus mine field, but it was healing and still growing. Its mouth had nearly reformed and more and more tentacles were sprouting from its core. It was healing, unlike anything she had ever seen. "05 get back here!"

Melanie turned and primed two fragmentation grenades, useless but she had to try, and let them fly at the creature. Two loud thuds echoed as she turned and ran behind the elites, but she felt that it was coming. She was right. The creature had barely felt the explosion as it dragged itself across the dusty floor. The creature's head stretched from ceiling to floor and four tentacles jolted outward at Melanie.

"Duck and cover!" Sammy 13 shouted. Melanie dropped to her stomach and reached out to grab the slower elite back hoof, tripping him. The elite tumbled forward just as the tentacle brushed the top of its head, dropping his shield strength to ten percent. "Attack!" Sammy 13 shouted to the hunters.

The blue armored creatures roared with an exciting rage for combat. Four of them ran forward while the others fired from the tunnel door. The hunters slammed their gigantic shields against the tentacles, chopping some of them in half, and fired their blasts of radiation. The smell of burning flesh swelled within the room, but the creature didn't retreat. Tentacles whipped around from the left side of the bulbous head and smashed two hunters against the wall, sending orange blood splashing across the room. The other two hunters roared in anger and began to fire repeatedly at the head area.

Melanie and the last elite finally ran toward the door and began to enter, "Call them back, we'll seal the tunnel."

"They will not retreat." An elite stated. "They will fight to the death and give us the time we need to withdraw."

Melanie looked out as the remaining two hunters dodged a tentacle and continued to fire their plasma cannons. She then looked to the Elite near the tunnel door.

"Close it. Everyone head for the Inner Sanctum." Melanie began to walk deeper into the tunnel as one of the tunnel doors sealed tight. It closed from top to bottom and once the first door closed a second door began to close from side to side. The third and final door ascended from the ground to the sealing and together they created a multilayered wall that was practically impenetrable.

The tunnel lights provided adequate illumination as the group walked down the tunnel. It would be a long walk for the group, but an easy one considering that it was all down hill. Still, Melanie was not looking forward to letting 02 and 08 carry Eric all the way. Eric and Palab needed immediate Medical attention even if their wounds weren't life threatening.

"Will hold here for now. 13, take a look at Eric and do what you can."

"Roger." Sammy 13 replied as she handed her rifle to Mathew 08. She quickly pulled out her emergency med kit and stood at Eric's side, while Justin 14 and Roy 02 lowered him to the ground. "Give me a hand 02." The two of them cautiously removed Eric's helmet and could see the split that had formed along its side. Blood stains soaked his black hair, but the wound wasn't bad.

Melanie felt reassured that Eric would be alright and then turned her attention to the others, "Elites, do you have any medical knowledge of grunts?" To a degree Melanie already knew the answer.

"No." One of them simply replied.

"The grunts and marines can't be too far ahead." Melanie sighed as she thumbed her communicator channels. There was a lot that needed to be done, but helping the wounded was her first priority. "Private Williams, do you copy?" A burst of static followed.

A buzz filled her ear, "Loud and clear. Did everyone make it?"

"We lost four of our twenty hunters, Eric and Palab our unconscious, but we're in good shape. We need a marine and grunt medic up here, so hunt one down. But I want you to lead the rest of the Marines and ODST deeper into the tunnel. Station the Shock Troopers at the rear of your lines in case we need additional support."

"Additional support? That door is sealed isn't it? That thing can't get through that."

"I hope not. But I'm not taking any chances. You have your orders Private."

"Yes sir." The channel ended and Melanie turned her attention to securing the tunnel.

"Elites, welcome to the Black Ops, at least for now." Melanie felt awkward about the statement. She didn't feel right about welcoming the elites into her squad, but they were willing to follow her orders and help protect Eric. But it seemed too easy for them to volunteer to join up with a squad of humans, and Melanie knew she would have to question their motives at a more reasonable time. "I need you and some of the hunters to double check those doors and make sure their tightly sealed. If you hear anything on the other side, let me know."

The squad of elites and hunters began to run back to the door, but their squad leader addressed Melanie, "You are separating us from your squad. Is this a prudent action?"

"I won't be coy with you, I don't trust you and neither would Eric. If we're going to work together then I need to know you'll trust my words as much as you respect Eric's."

"Sergeant Raynord has completed the trials, and traditions say that he is a worthy warrior. Not only that, but he has also gained the respect of the High Council. We'll obey your orders only for the reason that you are his second in command." The Ranger elite glared at Melanie and began to follow his squad toward the back of the tunnel.

Bad blood was not what Melanie wanted in this team. The elites outnumbered them, and they were Rangers, which put the Black Ops in bad position for the mission ahead.

"Wait." Melanie stated as she followed the elite. She wanted to apologize, but that would be a sign of weakness. Instead she decided that she had to give the elites a more responsible mission. "By my estimates it's going to take us seven hours to walk the Inner Sanctum. Can you contact the tram station down there and get us a ride?" It wasn't the most challenging assignment, but for now it was the best she could do.

"I have already made contact with the Inner Sanctum honor guards. They are sending the tram as we speak. I will now select a unit to remain behind and guard this entrance."

"Understood, but if something happens they would be cut off from support."

"If this entrance is breached by that creature, the only thing they would need to do is contact the Inner Sanctum, there by alerting us to the creature's approach. Their lives do not matter when it concerns the Inner Sanctum."

- - - - - - -

"Captain, I've lost contact with the Black Ops." Siren stated from her holo-tank. She turned and looked up to Captain Monroe, sitting at her side, and folded her arms in thought. Her illusionary robes floated majestically as her mind raced over the last few events.

"What happened?" Monroe questioned.

"After we lost 159… unknown, at the moment. I am attempting to cycle through the Black Ops recorded chatter." Siren paused, placing a hand to her head. She couldn't concentrate because she was worried about Eric. Again her emotions were getting the better of her. She pushed aside her feelings and pulled the data records of the black ops. One by one she began to scan their com logs. "Evac had been initiated on schedule. All Pelican's reported in. Nothing unusual yet. Got it. What the hell?"

"Siren?" Monroe nervously voiced. Now the entire command crew was eagerly listening.

"It wasn't the flood that took down 159. It was something else, something big. Eric… 19 canceled the order for the last bird to land and then signaled the retreat. Hunters advanced from the Tram Station to assist."

"I don't want a detailed analysis of the situation, Siren. Where are the Black Ops?"

"Underground, I think." Siren frustratingly replied. She put a hand to her temple, sorting through the data that was flooding into her systems. "The Lotus AT filed was detonated. 19 was wounded… Eric? The others retreated into the tunnel. I lost contact when the doors sealed."

"How could we have lost contact?"

"I am sure the elites are blocking our channels. Not on purpose, but by default. We were the enemy. I'll try sniffing out the frequency and make contact…"

"No." Monroe added firmly. "If this alliance is going to last, we need to trust each other. Contact the Knight and Piercing Arrow and ask ship master Timnaldee for the frequency."

"Captain, we may not have time to…"

"Contact Timnaldee for the frequency, Siren!" Monroe glared at the tiny figure standing at her side. Unlike Aries, Siren was uncontrollable, loyal, but uncontrollable. Monroe felt odd about yelling at a hologram, but her reactions were too human to tell. Yelling seemed to be the only way to get her point across.

"Ma'am. Opening channel." Siren replied softly. She was sulking, and everyone knew it. Siren was aware that the possibility of captain Timnaldee rejecting their request was high, and logically it would have been faster and easier to simply crack the channel. The elites were going to protest the stealing of the ship and a battle would be unavoidable. To Siren, asking for permission was not logical.

A video display opened and the image of Timnaldee standing upon the command deck appeared, "Captain Monroe, this is not a good time. Please speak quickly."

"We lost contact with one of our squads when they went into the tunnel. We ask for the frequency to the Inner Sanctum."

"I'm sorry, I must first speak with the High Council before passing on such knowledge. But I'm sure you already know the channel frequency. Still, I am pleased you asked. Contact the humans, and only the humans in the tunnels. I will speak with the high council once this situation has passed."

"Do you need any assistance?"

"I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done."

An elite roared from the background of the video transmission, "Captain Timnaldee, something is happening around Jogrennilee!"

"Captain I must go. Show me!" The transmission ceased and Monroe peered down her nose at Siren.

"Now, Siren, get me in touch with the Black ops. Helm, put us over Jogrennilee and find out what they saw."

"The frequency is clear, captain." Siren smirked. She wanted to contact Eric, but the communication had wasted nearly a minute, and for an AI a minute was an eternity.

The helmsman then turned and looked to Monroe, "Ma'am, you've got to see this." Everyone gazed through the viewing portal and on the horizon of the northern continent all they could see was a thick green and yellow cloud.

"Positioning external cameras and magnifying." Siren stated as she squinted. "The location is Jogrennilee… but that's…" Siren suddenly became silent as she opened a view screen and showed the command crew a closer image of the cloud.

"Siren, clarify." Captain Monroe demanded.

Siren stood silently for a moment and then turned to Monroe, "That is a cloud of flood spores."

"Flood spores?" Someone from the command crew questioned.

"Yes. According to Cortana, the Monitor on Halo installation 04 stated that the flood can alter a planets atmosphere. Data that Cortana acquired from the Halo installation proved this to be correct. The spores are released by the flood and into the air. But this…" Siren pointed to the video, "… this is not possible. It would take millions of flood infection forms to spread such a high volume of spores."

"Or, one big flood form." Monroe stated. "Helm take us over the city, and put us at an altitude of one kilometer. Let's find out what's going on down there." Monroe pressed her command chair communicator and contacted the Black Ops on the frequency that Siren had found. "Monroe to Black Ops, do you copy?"

A static burst fired back with Melanie replying, "Loud and clear ma'am. The operation is still in the dark. We will notify you once we commence."

"We have another problem, 05. A cloud of green spores is filling the air around Jogrennilee."

Siren then cut in, "The spores carry the flood infection. Current trade winds on the planet will spread the spores at an alarming rate, roughly two miles every hour. Every dead creature within the area will be infected and reanimated into carrier forms."

"What is the air quality in your area?" Monroe questioned.

There was a slight pause, "The tunnel is air tight and Oxygen is coming from the Inner Sanctum. We're fine. I think I know what's creating that cloud. The reason our plan went to hell was because we were attacked by this giant creature. It released the spores from its mouth."

Monroe then added, "We are now over the city. Our cameras' can see the tram station and it's covered by thick vine branches…" As she watched the monitor one of the 'branches' moved and Monroe was forced to take another guess at what her eyes were seeing. "It moved."

"Not branches, ma'am." Melanie sighed as she peered at the door. "That thing is some form of Flood, not sure what though. It has gigantic tentacles and it looks like a giant plant, but it's composed of fleshy tissue. And it talks."

"Talks?" Siren questioned as she also gazed at the view screen. "What has it said?"

"Mostly riddles, I think, but I've been able to understand mostly what it has said. It's angry that we are protecting the Seed Installation and it wants it."

Monroe rubbed her hand through her regulation length red hair, "We have to neutralize this threat. Siren, how long will it take for those spores to affect living life?"

"Depending on the amount of exposure; three hours, but the exposure must be constant. It could take a host several days to show symptoms of the infection if it is breathed for a few moments. However, dead cells can be reanimated within minutes. This is why the infection mutates into an infection form. The infection form can take over a host in mere seconds, regardless of the host's ability to breathe the spores or not."

Monroe pondered the words, knowing that her black ops and the rest of the elite and grunt warriors were now infected. "05 contact me when 19 is back on his feet. Stay alert down there. Monroe out."

The channel closed and Captain Monroe looked at Siren with a deeply concerned gaze, "They're all infected, aren't they?"

"Yes and no." Siren calmly stated. "The spores' affect on a living host is much like any infection, it spreads slowly, similar to a common cold. The infection will basically die off if the spores are not constantly fed. The spores themselves feed off of each other and the host. Just like the flood forms. The more spores that are inhaled the less are your chances of survival. But still, I don't think the Black Ops were breathing those spores for more then a few minutes. It would take a great deal of time for the spores to infect them." Siren's optimism was high, but even she had her doubts. There wasn't enough data to analyze and without more information she couldn't give a clearly know the results of the infection.

"Siren, I need a clear answer. Are they infected?"

Siren lowered her head, her mind reached out to Eric and Melanie; the man she had once loved and her younger sister. She didn't want to think of losing them to the flood, but her digital mind could only think based on her gathered knowledge.

"I don't know." Siren simply stated. "If they're suits were sealed, perhaps they aren't. But… my best judgment would be that they are infected. They are breathing pure air now, and that means that the spores within them could die off, or it could mean that the spores released from that creature only affect dead cells and flood forms, or it could mean… that the infection has yet to spread within them. This creature wasn't contained in any of the data that Cortana discovered. I … I… I simply don't know."

The command crew of the Rogue Fantasy gazed at Siren's holographic image with quiet concern. To hear an AI say that 'it didn't know' was rare. AI's were supposed to have the answers to tough fact based problems. Monroe saw the doubt upon her command crew and she felt it to. To loose the last of the Black Ops after they had been reunited would be severely demoralizing, not to mention a complete mission failure.

"Until we have gathered more information for Siren to digest, we have to declare the Black Ops and everyone else in Jogrennilee, as hostiles." The faces upon the crew all sulked, but at least there was still hope.

"Captain, the Knight and Piercing Arrow is hailing us."

"Put it through."

A video screen emerged at the head of the bridge and Timnaldee stepped forward, "Captain, what is that green cloud?"

"Flood spores. There is some form of creature and it is spreading the spores around the city much faster then the normal flood. There are a lot of factors we aren't sure of, but this is our best guess for now."

"Can things get any worse? Bladra has fallen to the parasites as well. We tried to destroy the city but we arrived to late… they have broken into the Tram tunnel and consumed the guards there. It is only a mater of time before they arrive at our most sacred of locations. I have spoken to the High Council, I have been told to stand by."

"We may have an option that the council is not aware of." Monroe declared. "The Sacred Hall, it's a ship. And it maybe the only hope for your race."

"Yes, Vornaldea has told me of the Doctor's discovery within the Sacred Hall. But I find it most interesting that you are aware of this. But no matter, time is short and much needs to be done."

- - - - - - - -

Kelly and Rose turned into another doorway, but this room was already gleaming with light. It was smaller and narrow. Kelly recognized the setting; it was another foyer to a larger chamber. One thing was for sure, the Forerunners stuck to a pattern in everything they built. But unlike the other rooms they had encountered, this foyer was already flowing with light. The lights in the previous rooms had turned on once they had entered.

Closely behind the armor clad Spartan was Rose. Her magnum held tightly in her palms as she kept the barrel low. While she thoroughly enjoyed holding the magnum, she was not empty minded; slung over her shoulder was a more powerful BR55. If anything, she could let Kelly use it in a pinch, but she felt more comfortable with the magnum.

The two cautiously, yet with haste, walked down the foyer; eyes constantly on the lookout for anything suspicious. The halls of the Seed Installation had been absent of life for many years, but they couldn't be too careful. A small slope led them down a spiraling hallway with double doors at the base. Kelly instinctively tossed up her left hand and pointed to the door with a sharp swing. She then pointed to the left side of the door. This was the tenth door they had encountered and Rose was starting to get used to the hand gestures. Rose sprinted forward, gun held high, and pressed her back against the left side of the door. Kelly lowered her posture twenty feet from the door and gazed through scope of her battle riffle.

Rose could feel the tension, and was wondering why she was nervous this time. After ten doors of darkness they had finally came upon an already lightened room, and clearly the elites were on the other side of the ship by now. Rose was nervous and it was because she felt that they were no longer alone. Someone else had turned on these lights.

Rose looked back at Kelly and waited for the signal. Kelly nodded her head sharply and Rose pressed her hand against the door panel. The double doors parted, exposing a brighter room beyond. Rose pulled her gun up and peered around the corner while Kelly scanned the room from the distance. Rose then waited as Kelly slowly crept forward, scanning more and more of the room as she walked in. Soon she crossed the threshold and marveled at the room.

"Not at all what I expected to see." Rose openly commented.

"This is the biggest room yet." Kelly replied, but she never let her guard down.

Before their eyes were rows and rows of flowers, trees, wildlife, and another light source above. The light wasn't like the rest of the lights throughout the ship, but was more like the large crystal formation outside the ship. The crystals were naturally radiating a light source that was feeding the forest before them. The ship had its own atrium in its center.

"Stay close." Kelly stated. She leveled her rifle and began to walk forward, walking down the path of trees.

Kelly's internal communicator sparked to life, "Demon, we have found the engine room. All seems to be running smoothly. Elder Vornaldea is sending a team down, but I don't know why. Something has happened." Belmaeda spoke with a sense of concern in his voice. Kelly could hear that he was worried.

"Call me Kelly." She sighed in frustration to be called a Demon. "Or Spartan or 087, but stop calling me Demon."

"Very well, it would seem best to not call you such a thing any longer."

"Any idea what's going on?"

"None. I will speak to the high elder once the support team arrives."

"Keep me posted. 087 Out." The familiar static faded and Kelly focused on the room again. "Once we clear this room, we'll turn back. The elites found the engine room."

"Good, this place is creepy." Rose stated as she peered over her shoulder. "There's a forest in the middle of this ship and animals, birds, and I felt a breeze a moment ago." A rustling sound caught Rose's ear and she quickly turned her gun toward the sound. Kelly heard it too, stunned that her motion tracker hadn't shown anything. It was close to Rose and she flung herself at the sound. She leapt across a small thicket of bushes and grabbed the brownish grey creature within it.

"Don't shoot!" The creature begged, flailing its arms around in terror. "You… you are not honor guards!"

"Kelly what is it?" Rose questioned, staggering to see what Kelly had found. She held her gun high and waited for Kelly to pull the creature from its hiding spot.

Kelly dragged the skinny two legged creature from the bushes and tossed it to the ground. A red robe covered its fragile body but there was no denying what it was.

"What the hell is that doing here?" Rose fumed as she pressed the gun to the creatures head.

"Humans? Here? Something must have gone wrong!" The creature nervously cried.

Kelly then voiced, "Damn right something went wrong. Which one are you?"

"Damn you Demon, I shall tell you nothing." The creature smirked with a wicked gleam.

"Who are you Prophet?" Kelly then pressed her barrel against its head, making the prophet more uncomfortable then before.

With two human weapons firmly resting against the side of his face, "I… I am the High Prophet of Mercy."

- - - - - - - -

"What?" Vornaldea screamed as he stepped into the room. Handcuffed to a tree sat a younger version of the Prophet of Mercy, the eldest of the Hierarchs. "This is not possible. Simyaldee reported that you were dead! He saw your corpse aboard High Charity, before it was destroyed."

"My corpse, destroyed?" Mercy repeatedly questioned. "What has happened, Sangheili?"

"Do not speak that term as if you are an ally, traitor!" Vornaldea powered his energy sword and roared as he raced toward the bound prophet. Kelly stepped in front of him, halting his aggression.

"Calm down elder. I figured it was odd that a High Prophet was here, so I think we should let him live and question him."

Mercy smirked, "Now you answer to the Demon? The Sangheili truly have fallen far from the Covenant."

"If you dare to spit the sacred name of my race again, I shall tear your entrails from your stomach, cur." Vornaldea roared. "Now tell me what you are doing here."

"I suppose there is no harm in telling you now. If you truly have sided with the human's then I would assume that the Elites have finally been cast down by the brutes." Mercy lowered his head and spoke clearly to the group. "We prophets have lived for many years, but age does consume us. Soon, my former self would have died from age, but thanks to our technology we have been able to find a way to cheat death. I am a hierarch because I am one of the first to be reborn, a direct descendant of our one time Empire." The door to the forest parted and in walked Doctor Halsey and Belmaeda. "I contain all of the knowledge that Mercy possessed upon his last visit to this world. And once the location of the human world was discovered, he generated me remotely from High Charity. If he failed to see the destruction of all life, then I would begin his quest again."

"A clone." Catherine bluntly stated as she approached the group. "The prophets created clones of themselves over the course of thousands of years. All of them used the technology that they created with the rest of the Forerunners to give themselves a fake since of immortality. It took me a while to put the pieces together, but now I understand."

"This human is correct." Mercy gleamed.

Vornaldea then commented, "Then that is why we were ordered to never defile the deeper regions of the Sacred Hall, so that we would not discover this plan."

"Where are the other hierarchs?" Kelly questioned.

Mercy lowered his head, "They have not been created yet."

"A lie." Vornaldea earnestly stated. "The three of you were here. I paid my respects the day you approached the Sacred Hall. They are most likely hiding."

"You stupid elite, we can generate an entire army of our race and run you all into the ground. Flee before my brothers come."

"Another lie." Catherine smirked. "The Mass Repopulation engine can only be activated after the Halo's have fired. After that it can only be reactivated once the system is reset. But even then, it must wait for the Ark's permission. You can only use one regeneration system for fear of an enemy gaining possession of this ship."

"Stupid human, you know nothing!" Mercy spat.

"I know a lot more then you think. Kelly, come here please and remove your helmet." Kelly crossed the room, and began to pop the seal on her airtight Mark V armor. A hiss steamed from the seals beneath her helmet and she pulled it from her head. Her hair fell to her shoulder, she still had yet to find time to cut it, and she stood at Catherine's side; her back to Mercy. "Do you recognize her, Mercy?" Kelly frowned oddly and turned to look at Mercy.

"No. No. It can not be possible." Mercy screamed in disbelief. Everyone seemed dumbfounded.

Catherine smiled with a self satisfaction of finally solving one of the mysteries, "The forerunners were a combined Empire of races. Thousands of years of memories, and finally you are beginning to understand, and so am I. My Spartans are not special simply because they were altered. They are special because of their bloodline. You know her, or should I say, you know of her ancestors."

"There are differences, but the resemblance is uncanny." Mercy gawked as he stared at Kelly.

Vornaldea stepped forward, "Get to the point."

"We had an army. These warriors fought for the pride of the Forerunner Empire against our enemies. We labeled each conquered species by number and assimilated them. Humans were species 011. Amongst this army were genetically enhanced warriors from all species. It is clear that her bloodline contains those genes."

"Wait." Kelly stated suddenly. "I'm a Forerunner?"

Catherine slid her glasses to the top of her nose, "No, Kelly. We all are descendents of a race within the Forerunner Empire. Each of us were given different tasks, duties and purposes for the glory of the Empire. My best assumption is that after the activation of the Mass Repopulation Engine aboard the Seed instillations, and the ark, were soldiers."

"Who better to begin the repopulation of life, but the strongest of all species." Mercy sternly declared. "But for the safety of our future we limited the amount of repopulations to every species. Only we prophets were born with our entire race recreated. The other species were limited to only two; a male and female. Your genes must be that of the one who piloted the Ark, she was a general for the Reclaimers."

The elites in the room gazed at each other with a horrified persona. The realization that they were all a piece of a well orchestrated design.

"I found a connection between Kelly's DNA and the infection form. They were nearly identical, but the pattern repeated and then I remember something I found years ago. All of my Spartans had a certain gene that connected them together. I didn't think you would honestly know her face, but no matter. Now, Mercy, tell us all why we are trying to stop you from activating the Halos." Catherine folded her arms across her chest as Kelly resealed her helmet.

Mercy glared at the insignificant human before him, "Power, human. It is all about power. Humans were slaves, elites were slaves. You were all slaves every last one of you. But you expanded, you grew much faster then we expected. You multiplied like insects. If it were up to me all of you would have been eliminated in the first war. We could have easily solved all of our problems but we needed to control the Empire, not destroy it."

"Conquered worlds are useful, destroyed they are nothing." Vornaldea added remembering his teaching from the academy when he was a watchmen; more then a hundred years ago.

"Four races occupied the Royal Colonies." Mercy continued as Catherine paid especially close attention to these words. "Species 001, 002, 003, and we Prophets, served as the governing body of the Empire. You worthless humans were species 011. You were nothing tell we selected human warriors for our battles. Giving them genetic upgrades greatly increased your usefulness. You found favor with the other species of the Royal Colonies, but we hated you… and we always will." Catherine raised an eyebrow at this statement, something was off.

"That's why you were so determined to kill us." Rose sternly roared.

"Save for one." Catherine added. "You needed one of us to fire Halo, yet at the same time you didn't know."

"What do you mean? The Reclaimers had been chosen of the humans, but we were not told that only the humans could fire Halo! That must be what has delayed things so long."

Catherine glanced at Mercy with an odd glare, puzzled by his words. "How could you not have known?"

"Look at us Prophets, human. We are not builders, we are thinkers. We served as the law passers, and judicial bodies of the Empire. We did not make the decision to create the Halo's or of how it would function. Because of the mental torment created by the Flood, we found it best to keep information away from each other, such as the functions, abilities, and locations of the rings. If the flood was able to gather all the knowledge of the rings… we wouldn't be here now. The discovery of the reclaimers secret must be new information that my former self was not aware of before he last came here…"

"You were galactic Lawyers?" Rose could hardly contain herself from laughing. Catherine also smirked at the irony.

"I still have more questions, but we can discuss it more thoroughly later." Catherine began to walk toward Vornaldea and spoke softly. "I had Belmaeda bring me here because I need to talk to you."

Vornaldea nodded to Catherine and then looked to the Honor Guards, "Take him to the higher levels and secure him within a cell. Belmaeda, form a team and began looking for any more of the prophets." He then turned back to Catherine and they walked out of the atrium room. "What it is?"

"I noticed you didn't object to his words."

"He was lying, we spoke to the Hologram and he told us the truth." Vornaldea stated, rubbing his mandibles loosely.

Catherine agreed, "Yes, but I'm glade you didn't share that with him. It may be advantageous to hold some knowledge from him. But there was one thing he said about the Royal Colonies."

"It was most shocking when he said it."

"The hologram stated only two species were amongst the Royal Colonies, and the prophets weren't amongst them. Also, while the Empire did exist and we were all apart of it, only the Royal Colonies species were considered Forerunners. They contained the knowledge of all the worlds, but still all species were considered a part of the Forerunner Empire."

"Yes, however we were mostly called 'species'. I wonder…" Vornaldea drifted off in his thoughts as Catherine realized that there was still much to do and very little time.

"According to Belmaeda, the surface has been completely lost, correct?"

"Yes, but we will reclaim our world." Vornaldea smirked as his thoughts drifted on the images sent to him by Timnaldee. "It will take time, but we will…"

"Fail." Catherine interrupted. "The flood have spread their spores on a level unlike anything I can comprehend, because of that creature above ground. The City of Bladra was breached and the flood are making their way to the Inner Sanctum. Eighty percent of the surface is now lost, all of your warriors that have survived so far are here, within the Inner Sanctum; including the civilians. There is another option."

"I know what you would say, Doctor, but what you ask of me is heart aching." Vornaldea shook his head, disagreeing with the idea. "This is why you wanted to find the engine room and see if the ship is capable of flying. You would have me tell my people to abandon our world and to leave our home under the control of the flood."

"Not only that, but the surface is covered with ship parts and fragments that could be used to build ships. It would only be a matter of time before the flood escaped your planet. I'm asking you to flee with us, aboard this ship, and to destroy your world."

- - - - - - - -

Eric sat up and immediately began to rub the cobwebs out of his head. A bandage was wrapped tightly around his temple and he lay on a Tram bench. The inclination of the tram let him know that he was headed for the Inner Sanctum. A few ODST and elites sat behind him while his Black Ops sat a few rows to the front.

"Morning 19. You sleep well?" Sammy laughed. Eric grinned and slowly extended his middle finger. The Black Ops all laughed. Melanie stood and walked back to his side. She sat next to Eric, and her elbow bumped against him. Eric didn't respond so she slowly pulled it away.

"Debrief me." Eric whispered.

"We'd need a bed and a little privacy for that." Melanie smiled. Eric glared at her in a serious tone; she got the hint. "Sorry. So far we've sealed the tunnel, pissed off our elite company, divided the elite squads to guard the tunnel entrance and we're headed back to the Inner sanctum to begin operations. Palab woke up about twenty minutes ago, and went down on the other tram to prep his grunts to help take over the Sacred Hall. Vornaldea has sent a Regiment of elites to protect the breached tram tunnel…"

"Breach?"

"Yes sir. A city failed to close their tram tunnel in time and flood got in. The elite flagship tried to destroy the city, but they got there too late. It's only a matter of time before the flood get down here. No telling how many other cities were overrun and didn't seal their tram tunnel. The whole planet is connected by these Tram tunnels, and they all connect to the Inner Sanctum."

"Any luck with the elites letting the grunts into the Inner Sanctum?"

"Not sure. That's what Palab went to find out. He's hoping to persuade them, but he's willing to use force."

"Good."

"Also, Captain Monroe needs you to contact her ASAP." Melanie handed Eric his patched helmet. Where the crack once was, there was a patch of black armor soldered on with liquid nails. "It's a bit patchy, but it'll hold and keep it air tight."

Eric slid the helmet on and tripped the channel, "Captain, this is 19 reporting."

Monroe's voice cut into his ear, "19, I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but the surface is gone. Timnaldee can not make contact with any of the city defenses across the world. He sent a down patrol of phantoms… the flood are everywhere, and those tentacles from that creature have spread beyond Jogrennilee. We estimate that thing is covering nearly twenty square miles of land from its center. Now for the really bead news, I have visual confirmation that the creature is bonding with the flood. It's is growing by absorbing there bodies into itself. This thing is far worse then the flood could ever be."

"It kept saying 'it needed bodies to grow', I guess that's what it meant. That thing was once an elite that I had respected, and it contains his knowledge. It warned me to leave and give up the Seed Installation. It's smart and knows some kind of history about itself, its true purpose."

"That may prove useful. But for now, a last piece of bad news."

"Damn it." Eric cursed under his breath.

"It's digging. And it's digging fast."

"… how much time?" Eric gasped.

"Siren can give you the details."

"19, at the current rate of dirt and stone it is removing, it will connect with the Tram tunnel in ten minutes."

"Captain, what options have you used to try and stop it?"

"You won't believe this, but the closer we get the more fire comes our way. The flood have taken over the city defense turrets. All of the elite ships are holding back as well. But I still have one plan left… if you're up for it."

"Let me here it."

"It'll be close, but once you take over the seed ship… we NOVA the planet."

_**To be continued…**_


	21. Offense… Get out of my way!

**Stage 21: Offense… Get out of my way!**

**Location:** Unknown  
**Time:** 17:51 October 25, 2552  
**Transmission Origin:** Unknown  
**From:** -ONI Section III; Research and Black Operations;  
Major Elizabeth Rawlings: Head of Artifacts and Forerunner Technology Research Committee  
**Recipient:** Colonel J. Ackerson

_"Under your advisement I put Eric Raynord, or Black Op 19, in command of this operation. Reactivating the Black Ops and using them for the FTR Committee's use was your idea. I would have rather seen him put before a firing squad, but I digress. I see now that his options in the lab were limited. _

"_I am concerned that this operation is a complete failure. Siren has not made any transmissions, nor has Captain Monroe, since they left Martian orbit five days ago. This mission to retrieve the Seed Installation from the elite home world was a desperation attempt to save us all. Cortana's data logs contained thousands of years of Forerunner history, but the data was fragmented similar to the Ark data. The forerunner's purposefully split their information so that the flood would not have access to everything._

"_Colonel, I should not have wasted our resources on a fool hardy mission. While the idea of using the Seed against the Covenant was brilliant, it's implications could have a lasting affect on humanity. I am beginning to see now that I was too hasty in agreeing with this operation. If your Spartan III project had not failed than perhaps we would have taken control of Charlie Halo. We should have destroyed it when we had the chance, but now your Spartans will prove to be an even worse enemy then the flood and the Covenant._

"_Earth is overrun. Admiral Hood is already looking into options of using tactical nuclear strikes on the surface in order to slow down the flood threat. And the Covenant forces are rapidly overwhelming the Ark. We are safe here at Camp Eden so long as the location of the Ark is still hidden, but if the Covenant finds our location, which will be soon, then we will not be able to hold back their onslaught._

"_The Arbiters forces are holding the covenant at bay, and the Spartan Ibis are doing their job defending the Ark, but for how long. I searched your S-III files and noticed that you had troops deployed on several missions. Obey Admiral Hood's orders of an 'All Military Return' call. Get your troops back to Earth. For God's sake, do one noble deed in your life before it ends. James, do something."_

**End transmission.**

Colonel Ackerson closed the display screen and clasps his hands under his chin. The room fell into an eerie darkness as he contemplated his next action. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and leaned back into his chair. He stood up and began to pace around the room. He was fidgeting with a nervous influx of what to do. Earth was in danger, and they needed his help. He lied on his report, saying that his mission on Charlie Halo had failed, but in truth he was successful. He had lost a few Spartan III's to the flood, but still he had accomplished his goal of retrieving the Index on Charlie Halo, Installation 02. By lying about the mission he was able to protect the location of his troops and keep his remaining Spartans under his supervision. That was all but pointless now.

He turned toward a dark corner of the room and softly mumbled, "What is the status of S-III Squads 3-9?"

A soft female voice responded, "Squad 3 is MIA. Squad 4 is active on Basis. Squad 5 is confirmed KIA. Squad 6… as you know sir, they died after their augmentations. None lived. Squad 7 is reporting in from High Charity's debris field…"

"Hold it!" Ackerson shouted into the com. "Did Squad 7 find the crystal that the Covenant took from Earth?"

After a moment the women replied, "Yes sir. However… they believe that the flood escaped Delta Halo by taking over Regret's ship, meaning that the flood have the crystal."

"That explains how the flood found earth. What of High Charity?"

"The Covenant city is still forty percent intact. A lot of the flood survived the Arbiter's attempt to destroy it."

Finally beginning to relax, Ackerson sat back at his desk and continued, "What about the other squads?"

"Squad 8 confirmed KIA on Echo Halo. And Squad 9 is MIA near Pluto; we believe they met Covenant forces."

"Damn it. Only two squads left in less then a month." Ackerson cursed. He had let the project slip out of his hands while in transit to Halo. Ackerson was running from the covenant and he was hoping to hide because the ONI spooks were getting to close to his affairs. It was all because of that damn Halsey and her AI, making him look like a fool. The base on Charlie Halo was his only safe haven from ONI and the Covenant. His guards could handle the occasional flood attacks. "Tell Squad 7 to finish the job. Destroy High Charity with a nuclear strike, and then tell them to meet up with Squad 4 and get to Earth. I want them to report to Camp Eden as soon as they have finished off High Charity." There was no longer any need to hide or keep his Spartans a secret. This was an opportunity to show the world that his Spartan III program was indeed a success. The UNSC brass would marvel at his accomplishments and forget all about Halsey's Spartan II. He would finally be given the praise he justly deserved.

"There is another option, sir." The woman added as she shuffled a stack of papers on her desk.

"Still haven't learned your place, have you? Very well, I don't have all day. Spill it!"

"The research soldiers that escaped from Troy, Major Rawlings sent them…"

"I know all about that stupid Seed operation. Chances are they're dead. It was a fool's errand to go after a ship that has no military uses, and I'm thankful that Rawlings didn't know about my Spartans or else she would have demanded I send them to the elite home world."

"In the last ten years of active service we had never failed a mission, with the exception being Troy. I don't think we can't count them out just yet. Rawlings does not truly understand the words 'Black Ops'. We send them out to do a job, and they are not to report back until the mission is complete. We could use their assistance, and Black Op 19 is leading numerous platoons."

"Still, they aren't Spartans! What can they possible do to help? They merely paved the way for my Spartan research. You know that better then most."

"Black Op 19 is one hell of a soldier. It was a shame we lost 04 in combat, but none the less her mind is still at the head of this mission. Together they have an incredible list of completed Black Op missions. They are quiet, deadly, and have never let us down."

"04…" Ackerson sat back in his chair and massaged his chin in thought. He recalled the transmission after Troy had fallen and what needed to be done in order to save 04's brilliant tactical mind. They weren't Spartans but they were the next best thing. And if they succeeded in their mission to capture the Seed then perhaps it could still be useful. Surely his Spartan III's would have done a better job, but he wasn't going to waste them on a pointless task. "Send a message to the Rogue Fantasy; Make best speed to Mars orbit once you have captured the Seed Installation. If the mission fails, notify me immediately. End message."

"Message sent."

Ackerson pressed the pager on his desk, "Clear out the base and prep my Regiment for deployment. Notify all captains to prep their ships to head back to Sol System and lay in a course for Mars." He released the button and waited for a response.

"Yes sir." Was the reply from the speaker on his desk.

Ackerson then looked to the women again, "Tell my Spartan squads to finish their missions, nuke High Charity, and then rendezvous with us in Mars orbit. I am going to hope that you are correct on your assessment. Let's hope Eric Raynord is everything you think he is, Dr. Smith. Your repertoire with those test subjects is the reason you are in my indebted services. You had best hope that they do not jeopardize my Spartans, as I don't intend to forgive you twice."

Doctor Carolyn Smith ignored Ackerson's threat and began to gather her papers and data pads into a briefcase. As she stood up she noticed that Ackerson was secretly staring at her legs. Her skirt was barely military length, and the only women on Charlie Base were soldiers, she was the only civilian and that made her available. She let him look. So long as he was fascinated with getting into bed with her, she was safe from his punishment. She had taken his Black Ops away from him and told the UNSC brass and ONI about the secret research she had done. Ackerson vowed to kill her fourteen years ago, for betraying his project, but when ONI ordered the Black Ops into action she immediately joined them; she was safe with them. But Kim Peters' death changed everything.

- - - - - - - -

Elite Inner Sanctum  
08:40 October 26, 2552  
Jogrennilee

The Tram motioned to a stop and the last of its riders filed out. The last of the marines were silent, deathly so, and were shocked at what they were seeing before them. The elite Inner Sanctum brightly shined before them with all of its wonder and beauty. The cavern was so massive that a thin haze of clouds could be seen floating above, and beyond the thin whips of pressure controlled clouds was their target, the glowing ball of crystals which was the Seed Installation.

Eric walked through the crowd of marines with his Black Ops following closely behind. Things were going to get tough in the next few minutes, but no matter how the elites reacted he had to make sure the flood did not get their tentacles on that ship. He stepped to the front of the mass of soldiers and then began to push his way through a sea of congested grunts, all sitting and looking toward the massive door that would allow them access into the Inner Sanctum. Eric had yet to notice that the Ranger elites where following him as well and they were also slack jawed at the marvel of the Inner Sanctum. It had been so long since any of them had seen it during the trials of their youth.

"Sergeant Raynord." An elite elder stated as he approached. A few days had passed since Eric had seen Elder Bortello, but his face was one of the few that Eric could distinguish.

"Why haven't we been let in, elder?" Eric softly questioned, whispering so that only Bortello would hear.

"Despite all that has happened, there are still those that will not welcome the grunts, and to let so many of them enter the Inner Sanctum would cause in uproar."

Eric looked to his left at Palab, the grunt leader was ferociously gazing at the elder as if he was waiting for the right moment to strike. Eric placed a hand on Palab's shoulder, in a calming tone, but Palab did not back down.

"We stay here, flood creature come. You know, but not care if grunts and humans die." Palab snarled. His words caught the attention of his Mirratord grunts and they also began to fume; feeding off of Palab's emotions.

"Sergeant Palab, we have granted you and your Mirratord grunts access into the Inner Sanctum, but until High Elder Vornaldea returns from the Sacred Hall the other grunts and humans must remain here. This includes you Sergeant Raynord."

"Me not leave grunts to die!" Palab barked in return. Eric looked at his watch; his operation was already five minutes behind Zero hour. There wasn't much time. He turned to Melanie and nodded his head sharply. Melanie frowned slightly, but she understood, there was no more time. She quickly put on her helmet and the other Black Ops followed suit. In an instant, the mood of the Black Ops had changed. They were now in combat mode and they all knew that the next five minutes would be crucial. They all divided amongst the crowd of grunts and positioned themselves at striking range of the honor guards. Eric then turned and looked over the grunt's heads at Wesley. Eric didn't have to be close to him to tell that the young man was nervous; his body posture told his tale. Wesley was sweating frantically and nervously gazing back at Eric, waiting for the signal. Wesley knew his job, but still he was scared. Eric had told them all on the Tram what the plan was, and his was simple: Get to the phantoms and load up as many grunts and marines as he could, while the Black Ops and the Grunt Mirratord held down the Honor Guards. But he had to wait, he had to wait for the signal, but waiting was hard.

Eric turned to face Elder Bortello, "Elder you know that thing is coming."

"Sergeant, Vornaldea is on his way. I beg you to be patient. We have given you much respect and honor in these last few cycles. Do not do anything foolish." Bortello was not as blind as the younger Honor Guards were. He was very much aware that Eric's soldiers had positioned themselves into an attack position.

Chess is a game of planning ahead, adjusting to an opponents move and counterattacking. Sometimes chess can be played two or three moves ahead of the current positioning of the pieces, and in Eric's mind he was already three steps ahead of Bortello. The elite elder would never see it coming.

"Elder…"

"I beg of you Sergeant Raynord. I spared your female aboard our ship and returned her to you unharmed. Let that deed hold your hand for just a moment longer. I will not let you or your kin die at this door, but you must respect our ways. Do not do anything until Vornaldea has come. The other elders are waiting nearby in defense. If something were to happen then I will not have any control and nothing will stop it."

Sammy 13 cut into Eric's helmet communicator, "19! Snipers at 9, 12, 3, and 5! We've been made. They'll take us down before we cross the door." Eric slowly lifted his eyes, and in the distant windows of a nearby building, he could see the shadows of several elites holding Particle beam rifles.

Bortello followed Eric's gaze, "There are more of them, Sergeant. As I said, do not do anything foolish. We have been betrayed once today, we will not let our guards down so easily again."

Eric loudly sniffed twice.

The Black Ops all stepped to the front of the grunt refugees and stood within ten feet of each other. Bortello gazed in confusion, but his honor guards showed no restraint and powered on their energy swords.

Eric looked to the group of Ranger elites at his side, "You have a choice. Go over there with the other elites, or stay here with me and the Black Ops."

The elite squad leader looked at Eric with curious gaze and stepped forward, "If battle comes, we stand with our brothers. It is duty and honor that binds us and we must obey the will of the High Council." The rangers then pushed through the grunts, passed the Black Ops and joined the line of honor guards that protected the Inner Sanctum doors. The rangers stood behind the Honor Guards and Bortello. Bortello could only shake his head in disappointment.

"Do not force your hand, Sergeant." Bortello sighed.

"You made your choice. I have to make mine." Eric pulled down his helmet visor and each of his Black Ops responded by pulling back the hammers on their battle rifles, but they still held them low.

Bortello stepped forward, "You would betray our honor …" but his words were cut short. From behind, he was gripped by one of the Ranger Elites, and a hiss of energy roared from the ranger's hand. The energy sword sparked as it came up to Bortello's neck and the honor guards roared in disapproval.

"Traitor!" Bortello roared as he lifted his head away from the blade, but the Ranger held him tightly, keeping the massive energy blade at the elder's neck.

"Forgive us elder, but if we are to befriend the humans then we must trust them now. And the same goes for the grunts." The ranger squad leader turned to the honor guards and roared in their native tongue. The honor guards lowered their weapons and powered off their blades. "Signal the snipers to stand down, elder. We do not have much time."

"How?" Bortello questioned toward Eric.

"You always have to plan for every possible move, even the most unlikely one." Eric had used his second option, taking a prisoner. He then turned to Palab. "Get the grunts to secure the Phantom docking ring until we signal for them. Ready your Mirratord grunts to join me and the Black Ops. We're heading to the ship." Eric then yelled to Wesley, "Move it!"

Palab quickly turned to his grunts and began barking something to them. The grunts and marines began to sprint ahead toward the docking ring as the Inner Sanctum door began to close behind them, sealing off the Tram Tunnel.

Eric then turned to the Ranger squad leader, "Hold the elder hostage until you hear from me." Eric and the black ops then ran toward the Phantoms, with the Mirratord grunts racing at their side.

"How could you have done this?" Bortello questioned with a sigh of disapproval. The ranger released Bortello and powered down his blade. He quickly lowered himself to a knee and his fellow rangers joined him.

"Elder, Honored warriors, forgive us. But we did not betray you blindly. We are trying to help save us all. You did not see the creature with your own eyes as we have, and it is digging toward us. The honored human Sergeant is correct. If peace is going to last we must trust one another. If we do not leave, we will surely die and the flood will use the seed to conquer everything. The Sangheili must not die here."

Eric and his squad tore through the city, passing by elite females and young in a flash. Close to their side sprinted the remaining four Mirratord grunts and Palab. The Phantom docking ring wasn't far but they had to hurry. Wesley would soon begin loading up the Marines and ODST and following them to the Seed ship, but they had to clear the path first.

"Good thing you had a back up plan, 19." Melanie softly said through a closed channel. "I didn't want to fight them, but if we hadn't seen those snipers it could have gotten ugly."

"Just be thankful that the elites agreed to side with us." Eric and the Black ops followed the grunts and they all were pulled upward by the purple light of the phantom's gravity lift. Once on board, Eric walked to the cockpit. He passed the Mirratord grunts as they fastened themselves to the center bench as his Black Ops relaxed by sliding up their helmet visors'. Eric looked them over and then continued to the front of the phantom.

Justin 14 lifted his wrist and gazed at his watch, "Nine minutes passed zero hour, 19! Damn we're cutting this operation close."

"Can't cut it any closer then we did on Myst." Sammy 13 added, always the one to lighten the mood. "I thought we were going to bite the big one back then."

Mathew 08 laughed, "We would have if those Jackals hadn't started fighting each other. Those elites didn't know what to make of that."

"Yeah, Kim threw one hell of a pebble at that jackal." Sammy chuckled. "Hit him in the back of the head. He thought the other jackal did it, and their whole patrol gave up looking for us and watched the two of them fight. God that was funny, except the part where we were wounded, chased and nearly caught, thing." The black ops again shared a brief laugh. They knew the importance of not worrying too much about the operation, they had to relax and avoid combat stress. Years of working in hostile battle situations, mostly behind enemy lines, had taught them that stress would only increase their chances of mental fatigue. All marines learned to harness stress and use it during battle. The body would use stress by sharpening their reflexes and rising adrenaline, but the side affect was the overwhelming mental crash when the moment passed. The Black Ops had trained beyond this. Much like the Spartans, the black ops had learned to mental push pain away and focus on whatever their task was.

"19." Roy 02 shouted from the pilot's chair. "Phantom inbound. It's on an intercept course."

"Probably Vornaldea's ship." Eric gazed out the front view port as the phantoms sped toward each other.

"They're transmitting." Roy sighed.

The deep bass of an aged elite reverberated on the com speaker, "This is elder Vornaldea to incoming Phantom. Follow my Phantom back to the docking ring..."

"Elder, this Sergeant Raynord, I'm afraid we can't do that right now. Have you spoken with Dr. Halsey about leaving Jogrennilee?"

After a slight pause, "Sergeant? Yes. I spoke with the Doctor and she informed me of an option to leave this world. How did you get into the Inner Sanctum?"

"We had help. No one was injured and no blood was shed, but that flood creature is getting closer every second. We don't have time to…"

"I have notified all honor guards to begin loading civilians aboard Phantoms, however it will take time. My commanders are now forming a defensive around the city perimeter and the Inner Sanctum doors have been reinforced. Our females and young will be the first to board the Seed ship, then your human marines. I am going to the docking ring to oversee the evacuation."

Eric and Roy gazed at each other with shocked expressions. They had hoped Vornaldea would agree, but the High Elder had already taken all the steps necessary for a complete evacuation of the planet.

"Elder, I am glade to see that you are doing what is right and …"

Vornaldea interrupted again, "Bladra was overrun and soon the cave entrance will be breached, Sergeant. While my forces oversee the evacuation and protection of the city, I ask that you and your team take command of my teams near the cave. Make haste, Sergeant. We have more then three million civilians to evacuate."

"Three million!" Eric gazed downward at his feet, and attempted to look through the bulkhead of the phantom at the city below. He knew there were a lot of them, but it hadn't dawned on him that every civilian on the planet was now hiding within the Inner Sanctum's city. "How many phantoms do you have at your disposal?"

"Sixty. It will take several hours to complete." Vornaldea sighed. He knew that it would take more then a few hours to evacuate all of the civilians, but he had no other options.

A burst of static cut through their lines, "Elder, Sergeant, this is Halsey. I need Sergeant Raynord to come to the Seed ship for a moment and to pick up Kelly. She is willing to help defend. It is rather pointless for her to sit here. The elite honor guards are more then enough protection."

"Very well, but make haste." The communication ended and elder Vornaldea's phantom sped toward the city below. The aft camera aboard the Black Ops phantom then showed dozens of phantoms speeding toward the Seed Installation.

"Get us up there, 02." Eric sighed. They climbed higher into the sky and as the gravity around the Installation altered, so did the phantom. It rolled over automatically as it adjusted to the force of the new gravity.

"Jesus. This ship must be huge if it's putting off such a strong magnetic field." Roy 02 whistled. Eric agreed. All they could see was a giant dome of light sitting upon one large cylinder tower. The rest of the ship must have been buried within the ceiling of the Inner Sanctum, which was now the ground they were landing on. On the forward view port Eric could see Kelly dressed in her full MJOLNIR armor and Dr. Halsey, but there was no sign of Rose. Dozens of Phantoms were landing and elite females and children began to quickly run into the massive door of the seed ship. Eric and his squad exited the phantom, and were soon followed by Palab and his Mirratord grunts.

Catherine quickly approached, and began gasping for air from her short jog, "Sergeant, I found a cure to the flood spore. It will protect you from the spore infection, but the flood can still kill you. I am working on a way to turn it into a weapon against the flood, but that will take more time. It can not kill a flood combat form, but it can prevent the spores from infecting your body. I need to treat you all, including the grunts." The two medics that were assisting her during Kelly's surgery, stood at Catherine's side. They quickly began to screw injection bottles filled with a pink tinted serum, into their needle guns.

"Roll up your sleeves." Catherine stated as she also picked up a gun. "You'll feel the affects immediately." Catherine placed the steel nozzle on Eric's forearm and injected him, followed by Roy, while her medics injected Sammy, Melanie and Mathew. She then tossed the empty bottle and screwed in a second, but this time the liquid was more of a blue tint. She approached Palab and he seemed nervous.

"It different." Palab noticed the different tint.

"Your blood makeup is different, and if I used the same serum on you that I gave the humans than your blood would boil." Catherine's words seemed to appease Palab and he extended his wrist. She proceeded to inject him and two others, while her medics assisted. She then approached Kelly and gazed into her golden visor. "No telling how long we'll need to prep this ship, but if things get hairy down there, pull them out."

"Yes ma'am." Kelly's words came from her external monitor and each of the black ops looked at her with pure glee. They were finally going to be fighting along side a Spartan.

Melanie grabbed her stomach and fell to her knees. Every muscle in her body quickly tightened, cramping at an alarming rate. She groaned as Roy and Sammy came to her aid. Shock quickly overcame everyone as they pondered what was happening.

"Doc!" Eric stated as he ran to Melanie's side.

"Medic!" Catherine screamed at the nearest medic as she ran to Melanie. The medic gave her a stethoscope and she pulled open Melanie's chest armor. Melanie was shouting uncontrollably, screaming and struggling to regain control of her body. Catherine slid the scope under Melanie's shirt and listened to her heart, while the medics quickly removed their med kit and bio-stat monitors.

Catherine drowned out the screams and listened closely, "Her heart rate is skyrocketing. This shouldn't happen. Blood pressure is also…" Two more screams filled Catherine's ears as she turned and watched Eric and Sammy crumble with the same symptoms.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Kelly stated as she caught Roy before he also fell. One of the medics quickly ran to Justin and caught him mere moments before he also tumbled over in pain. All five of the black ops were yelling as intense pain filled them. Eric was struggling not to yell, but the pain was excruciating.

Catherine looked at them and then to Palab and his grunts. Palab was terrified. Something was happening and he felt that it would soon affect him as well.

"Bio-stat monitor!" Catherine yelled. The medic tossed the small device and Catherine caught it. She quickly found Melanie's battle armor connection and plugged in the monitor. All of her life signs were in the red, and by all logical terms she should be dead. Catherine then whispered, "I've seen this before."

Palab suddenly collapsed as he reacted in the same fashion that the black ops had. The other grunts panicked but quickly became angry at the human woman, believing that she had injured their leader. They began to growl and slowly circled around Catherine and Melanie.

Catherine ignored their advanced and reflected on Kelly's surgery. The black ops were showing the same symptoms that Kelly displayed when she was introduced to the flood infection. But why now? Catherine looked up as two grunts snarled at her ferociously.

"You kill Palab, we kill you!" The grunt barked. Kelly heard the threat and instantly reacted. She sprinted toward Catherine, but Melanie had already pressed her sidearm to one of the Grunts temples. Kelly saw the speed of which Melanie used to draw her magnum from her hip guard, and realized it was nearly equal to her own natural speed.

"Back off, little guy. I'm starting to feel better, and so is Palab." The grunts turned to see that Palab was starting to stand up. His pain was not as bad as the black ops, and he was only down for a few moments. The grunts raced back to Palab's side. "Doc, I don't want to do that again." Melanie groaned as she slipped her sidearm back into her holster.

Catherine looked at her vitals on the bio-stat monitor, "All green. Blood Pressure is stable, heart rate is starting to regulate, and body temperature is lowering." Catherine gazed at Melanie's eyes and pulled a pen light from the nearest med kit she could find. She quickly checked Melanie's pupil dilation and gasped. "Fast. Extremely fast." She looked over her shoulder and the other black ops were also relaxing again. "Check them. Make sure they are alright." The medics scanned each of them and gave Catherine a positive head nod. She turned back to Melanie. "How do you feel?"

"Better than I've felt in a really long time." Melanie stood up, reconnected her chest armor and began to stretch. "I feel like my body is back to normal… no, not normal. More like, better."

"What happened to them?" Kelly questioned as she helped up Eric.

"I have no clue, but it surely has something to do with their muscle enhancements." Catherine pondered. "Ackerson's research cloned muscle tissue from several of you and implanted them onto the black ops."

Eric stepped forward, "When we first received these muscle enhancements, we were much stronger. But in order for us to live we had to have fallow up treatments. We lost most of our strength because of it."

"Perhaps the DNA structure of your muscle augmentations, combined with the cure, returned your muscle strength to normal. I'll need to run further tests later, if we survive. But what is really making me curious is why Palab reacted to the injection, yet the other grunts didn't?"

Palab looked to the other Mirratord grunts at his side, and he also pondered the question.

Eric looked over his group, "Alright, we'll worry about it later, but for now let's get moving. The flood won't wait for us. Move out, Dogs!"

"Sir!" Everyone turned and sprinted back to the phantom, eager to test their speed. Kelly, the fastest of the Spartans, led the pack, assisted by the additional strength of her Mark V armor. The black ops were only a few steps behind. Palab quickly out paced his grunts as everyone began to board the phantom.

Eric looked at Catherine, "How's Warrant Santos?"

"She was a valuable asset in fixing Kelly's armor. It was only luck that you had her on board. Good thing you pulled her out of New Mombasa. She is now with the Honor Guards going into the engine room and making sure everything is in working order. We've had some small set backs, but nothing we can't handle. She is quite resourceful, but I assume she is not the most dependable in combat."

Eric simply nodded his head in agreement, and without a further word he ran toward the phantom. He could see that more and more phantoms were landing and unloading civilians, but that wasn't his concern. Rose had found something she could do to help, and she would be out of harms way so long as the flood didn't make it into the Inner Sanctum. Now he had to do his duty; combat. He pushed himself in mid stride to see how fast he could move. Eric marveled at his own speed and quickly jumped into the phantom's gravity lift. The ship turned as it lifted into the sky, speeding back toward the ground and the cave area below.

- - - - - - - -

"Damn it!" Rose cursed as she kicked the case surrounding the power conduit. There were certainly more prophets running around the ship, and they were causing a ruckus with every small system they could. Most likely they were trying to sabotage the elites escape plans, but that didn't make much sense to Rose. If the flood got aboard the ship, the prophet clones would surely be in danger as well. No, there had to be another reason why the prophets were causing damage to the ship. She calmed herself and powered down the energy flow to the conduit and then reached inside and began to repair the severed lines.

"Human!" Belmaeda shouted from the opposite room.

"I said my name is ROSE!"

"Rose, I just received word from our other teams. No other prophets have been found." Belmaeda entered the room and found himself staring at Rose's backside as she laid head first into the wall panel. "But more damaged systems were found on lower level."

"We can go there when I'm done here." Rose released a heavy sigh. "Or you can get more engineers in here."

"The engineers, as you call them, are not from our world. They only abide on our capital and flag ships. We have none available at the moment."

"Great." Rose pulled herself from the wall panel and wiped the sweet from her forehead. She walked to the panel and reactivated the energy flow. A calm hum filled the room and then faded as power began to flow normally. "Amazing how quiet these systems are. That was the last one on this deck. If Mercy did this himself he must have been working for a long time. Where to next?"

"I have several warriors assisting on repairs ten decks below. They should be fine. We will need to go down more then thirty decks in order to begin the next set of work."

"Damn this ship is big. Are the civilians being brought aboard yet?"

"Yes, and we have more than enough room for everyone."

"Lead the way to the next area."

Belmaeda led Rose toward the center of the ship where several gravity lifts lined a circular drop off. In the center Rose could see the massive size of the ship's interior. The decks were layered toward the bottom, but the ships size made it impossible for her eyes to see the bottom.

"How many decks are on this ship?" Rose was amazed at the sheer size of it and she wanted to grasp its size with a number.

"So far, my scouts have counted more then one hundred levels. And each deck is easily the length of one of our capital ships. The smallest decks are the command area, which we believe to be the Sacred Hall area." They stood upon the gravity lift and began their decent to the lower levels. They passed deck by deck with blazing speed as they were engulfed in a blue-purple light.

Filled with questions Rose looked down to Belmaeda as he floated beneath her, "Why did they make this thing so big? It was simply supposed to carry DNA samples, right?"

"We have yet to answer many questions about this ship. Not until you humans arrive did we even know of these lower decks. But the prophet clone will answer, when we have time."

Their speed began to slow and Rose felt a small sense of motion sickness, but it quickly passed and she found herself hovering. She stepped off the gravity lift and saw several elites working on a small access panel.

"Elder Belmaeda." The elite nodded. "We finished on the other decks and we came here to assist you and the human."

"Good, continue here. We will venture forward. The report said that there were ten damaged systems here."

Rose hefted her bag of supplies and followed Belmaeda as the elites continued to work. There was a lot of work left to be done, and no time to do it.

- - - - - - - -

ONI Stealth Cruiser: Rogue Fantasy  
08:56 October 26, 2552  
Dorenth Orbit

Captain Monroe sat back at her desk and pondered the transmission. What the hell was Ackerson thinking? Mars? She looked at the transmission again as she cupped her hand over her mouth.

**Location:** ONI Stealth Cruiser Rogue Fantasy  
**Time:** 22:41 October 25, 2552  
**Transmission Origin:** Unknown  
**From:** - Colonel J. Ackerson  
**Recipient:** Captain M. Monroe

"_Make best speed to Mars orbit once you have captured the Seed Installation. If the mission fails, notify me immediately_."

**End Transmission**.

It was a very clear and simple order. But why bring it to Mars and not Earth? Admiral Hood had sent an emergency communication two days ago; 'All Military Return'. The order was clear to return to Earth, but Ackerson was telling them to make best speed to Mars. What the hell was he planning?

Captain Monroe was always suspicious of Ackerson's orders, especially when he picked her as the Commanding Officer of her own ship. She was fresh from the Naval Academy in Sydney, had only completed forty hours of simulated piloting of a frigate and had never been in command. Everything the man did was backwards. Of course Captain Monroe knew that he was simply gathering as many young officers as he could because none of them would surpass his rank. Everyone around him was damaged goods, average soldiers with low determination, or completely incapable of following direct orders. Luckily, Monroe was smart enough to know the meaning of the word 'Family'.

With Kim Peters, Black Op 04, and Eric Raynord 19, she had established a well knit group of dependable soldiers, and once they entered combat they each began to bond and excel in their duties. She found a hole in Ackerson's attempt to keep himself surrounded by stupid sidekicks that would make him look good.

"Siren, mission time?"

"Forty Minutes past Zero hours. I've been monitoring that… thing. It's still digging into the tunnel. I estimate they have less then an hour before that creature's tentacles begins to reach the Inner Sanctum doors."

"Are we ready to send the package?"

"Yes ma'am. I uploaded a copy of some basic subroutines into a Phantom. I can pilot it anywhere and detonate the package when needed."

"Very good. Keep your ears open for the signal. Something tells me that thing won't let the ship escape with trying to get aboard it. We're going to have to fire the package earlier then we thought."

"I've already made calculations, captain. We need to drop the package two hundred and thirty kilometers north by north east of Jogrennilee. There is a fault line beneath a canyon system that will put the Nova more then eight hundred feet below the planet's surface. This will slow down the speed of planetary decay on the surface and give thermal expansion more time to decay anything above ground. The creature will be destroyed mere minutes before the Seed ship breaks free from the planet. The Seed ship should be able to break free from the planet before any severe damage is caused."

"If you say so, but I hope you are correct."

"Ma'am, I can't afford not to be correct." Siren paused for a moment as she accessed the elite battle net. "Captain, the Knight and Piercing Arrow's battle fleet has picked up all of the above ground survivors and they are pulling out of orbit. Ship Master Timnaldee is quite an efficient leader. He organized his fleet and pulled out the elite and grunt survivors from cities all over the world, in less then two hours. No wonder the high council placed him in command of the fleet."

"That's good to know, Siren." Monroe sat back in her chair and turned off her desk lamp. Her quarters were quickly saturated in darkness, with the exception of the few emergency floor lights that glowed beneath the deck, but she had adjusted to the odd glow long ago. She folded her arms across her lap and closed her eyes. "Keep me informed of any changes. Wake if there is an emergency. Other then that let me sleep for ten minutes."

"Yes ma'am." Siren softly stated into the captain's desk speaker, but Monroe was already asleep. The crew was exhausted, as was everyone on the planet as well, but they had to push on. Siren quickly began to monitor all incoming communication's traffic across the elite and UNSC frequencies. She also monitored the Rogue Fantasy's systems as well as the crew's status. She split herself even further by listening in on the Black Ops channel, monitoring their communications to each other. They had just landed on the Seed ship to pick up Spartan 087.

Even though Siren was stretching herself with so many activities, she was only using sixty percent of her resources; well within normal processing range.

"A cure?" Siren questioned within herself. She overheard Dr. Halsey's brief explanation and marveled at the possibilities. She continued to listen as the medics and Dr. Halsey began to administer the serum. But she suddenly heard Melanie scream in pain.

"Mel?" The tone in Siren's voice was that of uncontrolled shock. She couldn't see what was happening, but she knew Melanie's voice. She then heard Eric yell to Dr. Halsey, but more screams began to flood into her mind. She could hear them all, screaming in pain.

"Mel!" Siren shouted. Her voice filed every speaker aboard the Rogue Fantasy, startling the crew and waking Captain Monroe.

"Siren?" Monroe struggled to focus and she turned on her desk lamp gazing around the room with complete confusion.

Dr. Halsey's words began to fill Siren's digital mind as the Doctor began to scan Melanie's vitals. Then, in the background, Siren heard the grunt of human male. The simple grunt turned into a groan and then a sudden scream of agony.

"…Eric…" The soft words filled the speakers of the Rogue Fantasy again, and Captain Monroe raced from her room and ran to the bridge.

"Siren, give me an update!" Monroe received no reply. "Siren, what's going on?" Captain Monroe ran onto the bridge and looked to her command crew. "Contact Black Op 19."

"…Eric…" the words echoed again across the ship wide intercom.

"Ma'am, all frequencies are down. I can't contact any of the black ops."

"Siren, what's going on? Get me in touch with 19!" Monroe shouted, as she gazed at the empty holo-tank near her command chair.

"Captain, stability thrusters are firing! We're moving!"

"Helm?"

"Ma'am, I'm not doing it! Coordinates have been set for… my god!"

"Captain, we're entering the atmosphere"

"Jesus! It's Siren! She's locked us out of all systems!"

"Helm, what's the heading!"

"Jogrennilee, ma'am!"

"We're going in hot! Too fast! Damn it, too fast!" The Rogue Fantasy began to rumble as they impacted Dorenth's atmosphere. The ships bulkheads moaned with the stress of forcing its way into the planets protective layers of gasses. Monroe was tossed to and fro and she slammed against the wall. One of the command crew raced to her aid, but she waved him off as she clumsily staggered to her feet. The constant rumble filled her ears as her crew began to yell out critical alarms.

"Cut out the main line! Get control of my ship back! Siren, release control of my ship! That's an order!"

The bridge speakers burst with static, "Mel and Eric… I can't let them die!"

"You are putting this ship in danger! Release control, now!"

"Captain, the hull is buckling. Fractures detected all over the place! There's too much stress and we're going in too fast!"

"Siren!"

"Engine pressure is redlining! Core breach immanent!"

"Ma'am, she uploaded herself into the ships main processor. I can't cut her out!"

"Jesus, can she do that? Damn it!"

"I've got helm control! I'm leveling off!"

"Engines online and returning to normal. Reducing power."

"We got the ship back…"

"What the hell? Helm, bring the ship about, before the city defenses start taking shots at us again."

"I… I'm sorry." Siren sobbed through the speakers.

"Lock Siren out of the system. Upload her back into her own mainframe and then pull the hard line until we find out what happened."

"Ma'am, I reached 19, he and the other are on a Phantom heading to defend the Inner Sanctum. He says everything is okay, now."

"Let me speak to him."

"Channel open." A burst of static filled the speakers.

"Captain." Eric stated over the channel.

"19, what happened down there?"

"We worked out everything with the elites and Dr. Halsey had a cure. We had a minor reaction to it." Eric replied, but in the background there were outcries at Eric's poor choice of words. "It had something to do with our augmentation."

"We have a bit of situation up here." Monroe sighed. "We lost control of Siren, she must have been monitoring your chatter."

"Is the ship in danger?"

"Not at the moment. We are rejoining the elite fleet in orbit, but as long as Siren is running Rampant…"

"Rampant, ma'am?" Eric questioned.

"She took over the ship and nearly tore us apart trying to get down to the city. I have no idea what she was planning, but I can't trust her at this moment. Also, she deleted our original AI when she came on board, so we do not have a backup to remotely pilot the Package."

"Other options?"

"Still working on that. I'll notify you when I have a solution. How much time before the elites are ready?"

"A few hours, maybe more, but I'll keep you posted. 19 out."

The channel closed and Monroe slouched in her command chair, "Status."

"We're holding orbit with the elite fleet. Tech officers and crewman are beginning repairs."

"Siren, what the hell were you doing?" Captain Monroe shouted at the holo-tank at her side. Siren's image phased into view and she lowered her head in shame.

"Captain, I…"

"Nearly crashed my ship into a mountain of flood and flood spores, or gotten us shot down by the flood controlled city defense grid? Pick one!" Monroe fumed.

"I … I wanted to help them."

"How? They're ten miles underground!" Captain Monroe placed her hand to her head, furious. But she was even more bothered that she was yelling at a computer. Aries never had this problem, but then again Aries didn't have half of Siren's power.

"My emotional subroutines, I… I sometimes loose control of my actions." Even though she didn't visually need to use her eyes to see, Siren still turned her head away from Captain Monroe. Shame completely consumed her.

"Then you should have shut down your emotions. Never mind the fact that you don't need them."

"There's an error in my subroutines, and I can't repair it. It is causing me to not be able to shut down my emotions. It has been getting worse sense I came online for this mission."

Monroe sat back in her seat again and gazed at the tiny figure floating at her side, "You should have told me this when you first came on board. Shut down Siren. In your current state we can't use you."

"What about 19 and the others? Only I can remotely control the Pelican and detonate the NOVA."

"We will have to find another option. Shut down." Monroe rubbed her fingers together in thought and then notice that Siren was still gazing at her.

"Ma'am, please. I made a mistake, and I reacted rashly. I was worried and my emotions affected the ships systems. I won't let it happen again. Please let me finish the mission."

Captain Monroe sat in awe of what she was seeing. Siren stood upon the holo-tank, gazing at the captain and was on the verge of crying.

"Affected the ships systems? Siren, you took us directly toward the city. We didn't fall from orbit; you took us out of orbit. Your actions were deliberate." Monroe leaned closer to the tank. "Shut down! That's an order."

Siren slowly faded and her hands clasped to her face as she vanished, "Yes… captain."

For a moment Monroe thought that she saw a tear role from Siren's eye. It was a hologram, but a tear none the less. She stood from her chair and gazed into the eyes of her command crew. They all felt the tension. Without Siren it would mean that delivering the package was going to be much more difficult.

- - - - - - -

Elite Inner Sanctum  
Cave of the Prospects

Twenty elite warriors waited. Twenty warriors that craved combat and action, but all of them felt some form of apprehension at the constant shrieks that echoed throughout the cave. Their only protection was the massive door that protected the Inner Sanctum from the unrelenting parasitic horde, but could it hold from the constant strain of weapons fire. The flood had made it to the Inner Sanctum, and only a few inches of metal and stone held them at bay. Numerous explosions could be heard on the other side, the flood were using plasma weapons, mostly the same weapons that the elite ground troops possessed before they were defeated.

An elite approached the door, placing his palm on it cautiously. As he had feared, the door was getting hot, and he was barely able to touch it. The doors temperature was warming rapidly and eventually it would not be able to hold. The super structure would weaken from the heat, and then crack from the strain. The walls around the door would be the first to give out, and then the door would crumble from the force of its own weight. The elite warrior turned and looked to his newly formed team and shook the warm sensation from his palm. Behind him were four specters and one wraith. It was all that was left after the watchman had attacked earlier, and the elders refused to give him any other vehicles because they needed them to defend the city.

The elite lifted his head and thought on the best way to defend the cave once the flood breached the door. The ceiling of the cave was high, much higher then the door itself. Useless, but it would give the wraith a better firing arc to lob plasma onto the parasites. He pointed to the wraith and motioned for the tank to maneuver back several yards. The wraith tank was slow and useless in close combat with such a large number of forces. It would be best used at a distance and fired over the specters. The blue-purple wraith tank hovered backwards until it was clear of the front line of specters. The cave was tall and wide, and if the flood was able to get through the door then they would also be able to take cover behind any of the numerous cavern walls.

"Hopeless." The elite grumbled. His fate had already been decided. He would fight to the death, hoping that he could stall the parasites long enough so that the civilians would escape. He volunteered for this assignment, to lead this team, to do something that would bring honor back to his name. He was a traitor that was looking to regain the honor he once held so proud amongst the Mirratord ranks, but in a moment of revelation he lost it all.

Gridolee twisted the hilt of his single blade and looked at it with a heavy heart. The motto of the super secret elite order was engraved therein.

"_For the Honor of the Mirratord._"

He honored those words more than any he had ever learned in his days at the academy, but now the words burned within him with a stabbing pain. Had he not met Simyaldee, the Mirratord second, he too would have fallen with his watchmen kin; slain by the more experienced Mirratord warriors. Gridolee thought that he was the best amongst the Mirratord. He thought that the high council was weak and he thought that the prophets were right. Signs had lied to him, tricked him and used him against his brothers. Gridolee gripped his hilt firmly in his hand. He was ready to accept his fate. High elder Vornaldea was the only one that knew of his error, but hopefully his death would restore his respect.

"Lieutenant, a phantom approaches!" One of the elites shouted from the cave exterior. Gridolee turned and watched as a phantom hovered beyond the cave exit and began to drop several grunts and humans. In the distance another Phantom was on approach and it quickly dropped five elite rangers before speeding back toward the city. The first Phantom powered down and landed.

Gridolee walked through his line of specters and elites and approached the cave entrance. He looked the humans over, quickly recognizing them as the human sergeant's team, but behind their masks he could not tell them apart. He came closer and quickly glanced at the green armor of the Demon, but didn't give it much thought.

Eric stepped forward, "Gridolee?"

"Sergeant, why have you come?" Gridolee asked as he looked over the group of humans and grunts. The ranger elites quickly joined the group and examined the cave instinctively looking for defensive positions.

"Vornaldea told me to come and take command."

"Has my honor been reduced even further?" Gridolee mumbled softly, but he was easily overheard by Eric and the Rangers.

The ranger squad leader stepped forward, "There is no time to discuss. The parasite will breach the door soon. Lieutenant your defense is well made, but we will need to move some of the warriors…"

"Do as you will." Gridolee interrupted. He turned and walked toward the door. "I will be with the front line."

Eric thought for a moment, but there was not time to dwell on Gridolee, "Sergeant Palab, move your grunts and stationary guns to flank the door. But not too close, that wraith will do the majority of the work. I need your grunts to take care of stragglers. Rangers, assist Sergeant Palab. Divide your squads accordingly. "02, get back to the Phantom and be ready to lay down cover fire if we need to retreat from the cave. You'll have to cover us until we can regroup."

"Roger that." Roy 02 saluted as he turned and ran toward the Phantom.

"Always the easy stuff for little 02." Sammy 13 laughed.

"Can't help it if I'm the best pilot." Roy returned.

"Cut the chatter." Eric barked. "05, barrow some grenades and set up a 'Lettuce Patch' outside the cave, in case we have to run."

"A 'Lettuce Patch'! I haven't done that since field training." Melanie giggled. She raced toward the front line and began asking elites for their plasma grenades.

"Spartan, you and I will join Gridolee on the front line." Eric stepped forward, but Kelly grabbed him by the shoulder.

"How can you join them so easily?" Kelly stated through a closed channel so that only Eric could hear.

"Who said I'm joining them?" Eric replied. "We have a common enemy right now, and the only way off this planet of theirs is to work with them. Everything I've done has been so that I can protect my men." Kelly looked around the cave, taking notice that the Black Ops were in the best positions to retreat if the battle became hopeless.

"Then why do you want to go to the front line?"

"Because if any of my men are going to die, it'll be me."

Kelly released Eric's shoulder and followed him. Kelly thought that Eric reminded her of John 117, despite the physical differences. The Master Chief and Sergeant Eric Raynord had similar leadership qualities and personalities when it concerned protecting the squad. She was finally beginning to understand Eric a little better, but the more she began to understand Eric, the more she thought of John. The Master Chief had done so much on his own doing these last few months of the war, and even though they fought together for a few days she was quietly pulled away from the team.

Eric stood next to Gridolee as Palab gave orders near the left side of the door. Kelly stood at Eric's side and raised her M90 to shoulder level.

"Tell me something, Demon. Why do you fight in this war?" Gridolee questioned, but he didn't look at Kelly.

Kelly released a simple sigh, "Call me Spartan. And I fight to protect humanity."

"I see. I dreamed of facing you in combat, when I heard that the male… Spartan… had destroyed the Ring world. I could not wait to slay you." The door began to glow a solid pink as the heat began to build within it. It would only be a few moments before the door would give.

"You and every other covenant bastard in your fleet probably thought the same thing."

"It was our blindness that drove us to such thoughts. Such hatred and so many lies." Gridolee activated his twin blades and lowered his posture. The specters behind the front line came to life, as the gunners and drivers prepared for the first wave of parasites to leap through the door. Eric and Kelly followed suit and stooped down to one knee.

Kelly turned and looked around Eric at Gridolee, "Humanity, never crossed you. You were committing galactic genocide for no reason. You were following your prophets' orders without remorse. At any point did you ask yourselves, why?"

"As I said, Spartan. We were blind." Gridolee lowered his head in shame, yet again. Kelly turned her head and could see that all of the elites nearby heard their words, and they all hung their heads in shame. The elites had lost so much in the past few days, all at the expense of the prophets' treachery and lies. Their world was dieing, the next generation of their young warriors had been killed and soon they would be left without a home.

"Somehow, I still have no pity." Eric added. Gridolee turned his head slightly and looked into Eric's reflective mask.

"I would not ask for your pity, Sergeant Raynord. You gained my respect many days ago, and all that I would ask from you is a chance to repay my debt to your kin." Gridolee returned his focus to the door as it began to glow white hot. "I can not speak for my brothers, but until the traitors have been slain, I will honor you humans and do whatever it is that my life beckons to make a mends for the deeds we have done. If I die in battle today, know that I died for my honor."

Eric chuckled, "Why would you want to die at the hands of the flood? No, Lieutenant Gridolee, you won't die today. If you want to die, then die with your hand around a prophet's throat. Only then will you gain any honor in my eyes."

Gridolee let the words seep into his mind. Sergeant Raynord was right; this would not be the honorable place to die. The prophets did this, ruined him, disgraced his kin and used them throughout history. The door exploded sending stone fragments scattering across the ground. The blue haze of wraith mortar blasts continued to impact the door, widening the gap. Soon the door had completely collapsed and the mortar blasts ceased.

Gridolee raised his left handed blade, "Hold! Let it come out to us!" The small platoon of humans, grunts and elites patiently waited for the call to battle, as wails and shrieks filled the cave with an impending since of doom. Combat forms by the dozens began to flow through the door as everyone waited for the word to attack.

"… a little closer." Eric softly mumbled. Gridolee, with his left blade still in the air, waited for Eric to give the word. "Closer…" Eric mumbled again. Palab, on the other side of the door waited with eight elites and two of his Mirratord grunts positioned on plasma turrets and he gazed at Gridolee's hand with eagerness in his mind. The flood were charging both groups, dividing their forces and rushing the lines fast.

"Now!" Eric pulled the trigger on his shotgun and aimed at the chest of the closest combat form.

Gridolee lowered his blade toward the oncoming line of flood combat forms and wave after wave of plasma tore across the heads of everyone on the front line. Palab and his squad also began to fire their plasma turrets and lobbed grenades into the mass of creatures. Soon the wraith tank began to lob tones of molten hot plasma onto the door area of the flood, scattering their decade mass across the cave floor. The fire power of the specter's turrets and the grunt plasma turrets made short work of the front line of combat forms, but more was coming. The flood gates had truly been opened.

"They just keep coming!" Gridolee roared. One of the parasites leapt toward him and cut the creature in half with his right handed blade, disintegrating the body before it could land.

"We can't fall back yet!" Eric roared over the constant hum of plasma and human weapons fire. But then bursts of plasma began to graze pass him and the front line. "Damn it!" Kelly shifted and placed herself partially in front of Eric to help shield some of the fire.

"Sergeant Palab's squad is being over run. They are relocating!" Gridolee roared as he pointed toward the left side.

Eric looked across the decay of flesh and raining mortar and saw the rangers step up and join Palab as they fired their plasma rifles into the oncoming lines of combat forms. They were guarding the other Mirratord grunts as they displaced the plasma turrets to another position.

"Don't worry about them! They've done this before! Maintain fire!" Eric roared as he took down two more combat forms, but three took its place.

Of all the warriors fighting the flood within the cave, Palab was clearly the most experienced. From Delta Halo to the streets of Jogrennilee, the grunt leader had seen his fare share of the parasite and survived each encounter. With the quickness and grace of his ancestors, Palab let the flood come as close as possible before he fired his plasma rifle into the creatures chest. The parasite was drenched in pound after pound of super heated plasma, and the infection form buried within its chest quickly popped from the heat. The combat form tumbled to the ground and Palab averted his attention to the next target. He quickly dodged the off target plasma shots from a nearby elite combat form and tossed a fragmentation grenade into the pack. He began to back peddle closer to the ranger squad behind him and grunted as the grenade propelled three combat forms into the air. Their lifeless corpses crumbled upon the cave's sandy ground.

At Palab's side stood the elite ranger's squad leader in his smoke-grey armor. With dual plasma rifles he cut down several of the creatures with little difficulty, but a combat form landed in front of him and slapped him across the chest with a tentacle. The power from the fragile creature was more then he thought possible. He tumbled backward and released an echoing roar, but his cry of pain was unheard over the constant mortar explosions. His shields burst into static, thankfully saving his life, and he tossed his plasma rifles to the ground. With one upward swing of his right arm, he gripped his energy sword hilt from his hip and cut through the parasite's chest. It exploded in a mist of green decay. He released a battle cry that every nearby ranger could hear, and they all pulled swords from their hip mounts. He began to charge into the mass of flood combat forms but Palab quickly cut into his path; stopping them from charging.

With one eye on the flood advance, Palab yelled, "You not attack! You be hit by friendly fire!" The elite looked up and calmed his aggression. His call to battle was driving him to sear the flesh of the parasite upon his blade, and his squad was eager to follow, but the mortar blasts from the wraith tank would have made his attack futile. He cut down a combat form that wondered to close and ordered his men back, denying them their glorious charge. They regrouped and took their plasma rifles in hand.

"I'm out!" Justin 14 yelled from his perched position beside a specter. He dropped his battle rifle and pulled up his side arm; cursing under his breath as the magnum popped its small armor piercing rounds. He quickly whipped through twelve rounds before he finally took down one of the flood combat forms. He cursed again that he didn't have a more powerful weapon and he reached down to grab his spare clip from his boot. He flipped the magazine release and slammed the fresh clip into the handle. "13 please tell me you have a spare 55 mag?"

"I'm on my last clip… these bastards need to stop before we run completely out!"

"19, we're running low on ammo back here!" Justin yelled into his com.

"Use harsh language!" Eric yelled back.

"Die you motha'fuckers!" Sammy shouted over the com.

"That was really lady like, 13!" Justin returned. His last clip ran dry as a nerve rocking click escaped his magnum's chamber. He stood and threw the empty sidearm at the first thing he could see. The five pounds of forged metal soared across the room with the speed of a fast ball, and then impaled itself into a combat forms chest. The creature's fragile skin tore and the infection form popped.

"Hell of a throw 14." Sammy cheered. She stepped up to his position and leveled her rifle. "Get back to the phantom and see if that floating raison has any weapons on board." Her rifle barked as she let loose more rounds into a distant set of combat forms. "And bring me back something to eat, this girl is hungry… ahh" Sammy dropped to her knees and gripped her shoulder. She was flailing madly as she tried to dig at her on own skin. Her rifle clanged off the side of the specter and the elites quickly turned to see what the problem was.

"Hold on!" Justin shouted as he grabbed her. As he moved her he could see the problem with shocking results. He grabbed the green infection form and it popped, scattering decay across his visor. Justin pulled the tiny pincers out and tossed them to the ground.

"The parasite is above!" An elite shouted as he looked upward. Several elites then turned their eyes up and began firing at the infection forms that were crawling along the ceiling. As they fired, they infection forms dropped upon their heads and began to overwhelm them.

"Shit! 19, 13 is down I'm pulling her out to the phantom. We've got infection forms above us, dozens of them. The elites are dropping fast!"

Eric cursed beneath his breath, "fall back to the exit! Move, move, move!" Eric's words were heard by everyone in his group and they all began to fall back. "Dogs, lay down cover fire!" Eric then turned to see that Palab and the rangers were still fighting hard. "Sergeant Palab, get your men out of there! Retreat!"

Palab heard Eric's shout and turned to his team, "Retreat! Leave guns, get out!" The rangers pulled out there energy swords and dashed ahead, cutting through the combat forms. Two of the elites died in the initial charge, but the others made it through and caught up with retreating front line. Palab and his Mirratord grunts sped through the swarm of flood forms, sprinting on all fours. One of the grunts was overrun by a hive of combat forms and his screams were quickly silenced. Palab wanted to go back for him, but there was nothing that could be done. Even with the cure in his body, he was still beaten to death. Palab dodged and followed his other grunts as the specters fired into the mass of creatures behind him. Dead elites began to rise ahead of them, their bodies taken over by the flood infection forms, and Palab dashed ahead of he grunts. His elbow spikes extended and he lunged at the deceased elites before they could fully stand. He stabbed, slashed, and tore the infections out before the bodies could do any harm to his grunts. Two elite combat forms stood to their feet and Palab prepared to attack but powerful explosion of a human shotgun tore through the creature. The Spartan waved for Palab to come on as Eric killed the other combat form. The last three of his Mirratord grunts ran past him and he followed to the cave exterior.

Eric tossed grenades over Palab's head as his communications channel came to life, "19, I just got a call from Vornaldea. Evacuation is complete! He says to get back to the seed now!"

"Already?" Eric questioned. "That wasn't even an hour." Eric looked to the group and did a mental count of the numbers. There were too many to fit on one phantom. Another ship was needed, but there wasn't enough time. "02, get off the phantom. Gridolee, take the phantom and get your elites to the ship."

"You are staying here?" Gridolee questioned.

"Until you come back to get me and the grunts. We're going to take the specters and make a run for the city. Pick us up there." Eric hated the plan, but it was the only option. He turned and tore a hole in a combat form with his M90 shotgun. "Get going. Dogs, load up the specters. Sergeant Palab, you and grunts take point." Gridolee cautiously ran toward the phantom, grabbing Sammy 13's unconscious body, and was the last to board. Eric and his team mounted the specters and sped off behind Palab and his three grunts.

"Stay alive Sergeants, I'll be back to get your teams with haste. I have the injured one; she will only slow you down." Gridolee said in the com. Eric couldn't help but feel some form of reassurance at the elite's words, but he couldn't depend on Gridolee coming back. He had to fend form himself. He had yet to put his trust in any of the elites and he wasn't about to do it now, even though he grabbed Sammy without being told to. Aboard Eric's specter were Justin and Melanie, while Mathew drove separately to get better speed out of the craft. Kelly was riding with Roy, and Palab was ahead with his three grunts. They sped across the field as the combat forms gave chase, but the specters speed was just enough to put them out of harms way.

"13, set off the Lettuce Patch!" Eric ordered.

Melanie flipped the switch in her pocket and a detonator exploded near the cave exit, and that in turn set off a chain reaction of explosions from the well placed plasma and frag-grenades. The explosion sent a plum of dust and rocks in all directions destroying hundreds of flood combat forms, but still more continued to run out of the cave.

"It was small, but affective I guess." Melanie sighed as she looked back at the explosion. "They're still coming, but at least we slowed them down."

"Let's hope we slowed them down enough." Justin 13 added.

"Rogue Fantasy, this is Black Op 19. We are prepping to evac the Seed. Get ready with the package."

Captain Monroe sat forward in her command chair and rubbed her temples, "Understood, 19. We'll be ready."

There were too many options and not enough time. Captain Monroe needed to get the NOVA planet side, and without risking the life of anyone in her crew. "Helm, set a course for the fault line that Siren selected as the delivery point. We'll take the whole ship down there and drop it ourselves." The crew turned and looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "Now, gentlemen."

"Yes ma'am. Entering orbit. Co-ordinates set." The helmsman turned and looked at Captain Monroe. "Should I prep an escape trajectory?"

"By all means. I don't plan to be down there any longer then necessary." The Rogue Fantasy casually accelerated toward the canyon system and hovered directly over the package delivery spot. "Juggernaut, change in plans. Take the NOVA to the nearest door and be ready to push it out. We'll get as close as we can before we drop it."

"Yes ma'am." Juggernaut replied over the com. The Rogue fantasy leveled out as it approached the monstrous series of Canyons beneath its hull. The sky was thick with flood spores and it created an eerie green and yellow glow everywhere.

"Ma'am, we're over the target with only a .002 percent chance of error."

"That'll have to do. Juggernaut, are you ready?" Monroe said into her communicator.

"We're ready captain. Bay doors are open and the package is ready to fall."

"Start the timer on my mark."

- - - - - - - -

Eric looked up with hopes of seeing a phantom descending toward him, but there was no sign of it. He then found himself speeding into the city, heading toward the center but something ahead of him gave him a chill. Palab's specter ahead stopped and the four grunts were gazing into the heart of the city with shock written across their faces.

"Very bad thing!" One of the grunts shouted as it hopped nervously on the back of the specter.

"Oh shit!" Melanie cursed. In front of them were long winding tentacles that were all beginning to wrap around the buildings and streets.

"It's already here!" Justin shouted.

"What the hell is that?" Kelly gawked as she peered into the city. "Is that the creature?"

"We'll have to form up on the edge of town." Eric ordered to his squad. "I'd rather face the flood then that thing. Palab, turn around and follow us."

"Roger." The command crew unanimously replied. Roy and Mathew had already turned around and Eric quickly followed. Palab's specter was close on his tail.

"Tentacle not move. Creature not follow." A grunt stated to the group.

"Fall out and hold that rooftop." Eric pointed to the last building on the edge of town and they quickly jumped out of the specters. With speed, grace and power, all five black ops sprinted up the winding ramps without breaking a stride. Kelly fell in line and the four grunts pulled up the rear. It was five flights to the top and Melanie kicked open the door. She quickly scanned the rooftop as she walked toward the edge of the rooftop and looked toward the field. There was a sea of oncoming combat forms.

"There has to be thousands of them." Melanie mumbled.

"Check ammo, Tango formation D." Eric's orders went without a response and they all checked their weapons. Roy and Justin held Carbines that they gathered from the specters, while Melanie and Mathew held their BR55's tightly. Kelly stood at Eric's side, while the grunts took position between the humans. They then fell into an arrow formation with Eric and Kelly at the point and everyone else fanning out from behind him. Eric and Kelly had the heavy weapons, M90 shotguns, which meant taking on the close range attack.

Palab began to sniff the air, "Parasite come!" His words were unnecessary as the stampede of flood combat forms could be heard, but the constant screams and wails also began to fill the air. "Grenades!" Palab shouted to his grunts. They each took grenades in hand and waited for the order to launch them into the door. The building itself began to shake from the charging mass of dead parasites running up the ramp. Eric lowered himself to a knee and pulled his shotgun to eye level. Kelly then took notice of her motion sensor; they were close and the numbers were off the scale. A combat form rounded the corner of the top floor and ran toward the door leading to the roof. Once it crossed the threshold it was cut in half by carbine projectiles. Roy, Justin's job was to take down anything that came in sight. While the stronger weapons would be for the creatures that got too close.

More combat forms filled the hall, and Palab launched his grenades into the door. His grunts did the same. A concussion of repetitive explosions followed and the shrieks of the combat forms faded for a moment. But then they flowed through the door as if unaffected by the explosions.

Round after round escaped every weapon as the black ops let loose with every amount of determination they had. Green carbine rounds soared over Eric's head as he cautiously picked his targets. He only had twelve shots before he would need to reload, and he knew that he couldn't waste his shots; the creatures had to be close. Kelly was also aware of her situation, eyeing the carnage and tumbling bodies as they fell at her feet. She fired one round at a combat form that was only two feet away, tearing the body into a pile of remains.

They pressed on, unrelenting, unforgiving, unconcerned for their own safety and determined to feed upon the living bodies ahead of them. Soon Eric found himself shooting more often and keeping a mental count of how many rounds he had fired. He had six shots left, and he didn't have time to reload. They were pushing closer and closer and piling up at his feet as his team mowed them down. This was it. No were to run too, no were to escape to. No more falling back; the last stand. His ears filled with the nervous retort of Melanie, cursing with every shot she made. She was loosing control, becoming angry and agitated at the assault. Roy was also panicking, loosing his calmness. He was the youngest of all the black ops, but he was still a black op. His team was loosing there edge, and Eric couldn't stand it.

Eric hopped back, reloading his shotgun as he put a small amount of space between himself and the flood. Kelly kept firing; she knew there was nowhere to run to. With every shot she pumped the chamber and fired again, but then her chamber clicked; no more rounds. Out of the corner of her eye, Eric charged into the mass of Flood combat forms. His right shoulder held low, and he plowed the first five parasites over with his own brute force. His squad gasped for a second, but continued to fire and reload. Kelly quickly reloaded her M90 and stood up and followed Eric into the fray. Two shotguns discharged at an alarming rate as Eric and Kelly fought the creatures as they came into the door. Eric planted his foot on one of the parasites and kicked it, sending it tumbling backwards into the other combat forms. Plasma flowed over his armor and he gritted his teeth to fight the pain. He raised his weapon and took down the combat form that had shot him.

"Eric, fall back!" Melanie nervously shouted, but Eric didn't heed her plea and continued to fire. A tentacle wiped across his back and tumbled forward, groaning as his shoulder dislocated from the blow. He looked up and saw Kelly slam the butt of her shotgun against a combat form, and then kicked it. Eric turned over to face the creature that hit him in the back and raised his shotgun. He pulled the trigger… nothing. He was empty. The creature stepped forward and brought its tentacle down on him but Palab wracked his elbow spike across the creature's chest, killing the infection form within. Palab bobbed and weaved through the numerous combat forms, stabbing and slashing with his elbow spikes. His eyes filled with determination and unrelenting aggression he took down a combat form and then another. But a tentacle crashed across his chest and sent him tumbling backward. He staggered to his feet and charged again.

Eric punched his shoulder in frustration, reached into his pocket and pulled out the gift he had received from Captain Domadree. His twin Mirratord blades exploded outward and he cut down three combat forms with one swing. He then ran to Kelly's aid, and raised his blade through the back of a combat form that was hovering over her as she tried to stand.

"Eric!" Melanie shouted. Eric turned to see what Melanie was screaming about and beyond the edge of the rooftop he could see that the tentacles were quickly moving toward them.

A burst of static filled Eric's ears, "Sergeant Raynord, the south side of the roof. Get onto the gravity lift!" Eric turned and saw the purple light of a gravity beam just off the side of the building.

"Go!" Eric pointed to the light as another tentacle cracked across his chest. Kelly was close to the lift and she began to open fire on the combat forms with her freshly reloaded M90; her last twelve rounds. The grunts quickly divide into the light and were cheerfully pulled upward, but they couldn't see the phantom that was lifting them. The black ops quickly followed but Melanie and Kelly both spotted Eric being beaten by two combat forms. They both launched themselves at the creatures and Melanie grabbed Eric, dragging him toward the light. She tossed him over the ledge and watched as the gravity lifted him upward. She turned and Kelly was back peddling toward her. Melanie lifted her rifle, firing into the overwhelming numbers of the combat forms that were charging Kelly. Kelly pushed Melanie into the gravity lift and she then jumped in. She kept her gun trained downward as she was pulled frantically fast into the sky. The light beneath her began to fade and she looked up to see where they were going.

Upward into the sky they climbed, but there wasn't a phantom above. Faster the sped through the thin clouds and toward the glowing ball of light ahead. The gravity lift was coming from the glowing rays of the Seed Installation. Kelly looked around and zoomed in on a green tentacle that was rising toward the sky. It was far from reaching the seed ship and moving very slow, but then Kelly noticed that the boulders were falling from the sky. The ceiling around the seed ship was crumbling and smashing the tentacles that attempted to reach toward it. The ship was breaking free of its prison and preparing to launch. Within a few moments Kelly found herself turning right side up and landing firmly on the floor of the Sacred Hall.

"We have them!" Vornaldea shouted to the rest of the high ranking elites surrounding him on the sacred hall, which was now the command deck. "Engines to full, break us free from the planet." The elder crossed the pedestal at the center of the massive dome and approached Eric as Melanie examined him. "How is the sergeant?"

"Not good, just back off, I'll take care of him." Melanie frantically replied as she tossed her helmet to the side and examined Eric.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a gravity lift on the ship?" Kelly sternly questioned to the elder.

Vornaldea gazed at Kelly, but maintained his calm demeanor, "We discovered it not long ago and it took some time to maneuver the beam toward your position. But there isn't much time. We must remove him from the command deck, it must be done. And whatever plan you humans have for destroying the flood, now is the time to use it."

Kelly stepped closer to Melanie and Eric, "Private, we should clear him…"

"Not until I know he's okay!"

"05, stay calm." Justin 14 placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly. "He'll be fine once we get him to a med area. You're in command of the squad. You have to contact the Rogue Fantasy, or all of this is for nothing."

Melanie calmed herself and picked up her helmet, "Rogue Fantasy, this is 05. The seed is launching, deliver the package! I repeat; deliver the package!"

- - - - - - - -

"Message confirmed, 05!" Captain Monroe pressed the com channel on her arm rest. "Juggernaut… set timer for two minutes and deploy!"

"Captain, it's Siren… she's…" The com died in a burst of static.

"Juggernaut?" Monroe stood to her feet and gazed at the empty holo-tank at her side. "Juggernaut, answer me! Juggernaut?"

_**To be continued…**_


	22. Offense… Tick Tick Boom!

**Stage//…Error... Error... error...**

**Time Stamp**: 09:00 August 1, 2552  
**Location**: Unknown  
**Data Log**/CPOMZ/b4287/Project-Siren/Regeneration-004  
**Subject Status**: Chief Petty Officer Kim Peters-- D.O.A.

Regeneration 1: Complete  
Regeneration 2: Complete  
Regeneration 3: Failed  
Regeneration 3.2: Complete  
Regeneration 4: In process…Host mind required for final Implementation of Virus AI.  
Codename: **Siren**

**Voice Recording**:

"_Kim, you're awake. How do you feel?_

"_Good. I know you're finding it difficult to talk, but you're doing fine. I am able to hear you, despite the fact that you can not hear yourself. A lot has happened in the past few hours. I patched your wounds as best I could but..._

_"Whispering? Sorry, I can't talk too loud, I am not supposed to be talking to you at all. If the Colonel knew I was here, well, it wouldn't be good._

_"Don't worry about me. Now be quiet and listen. According to all existing data and records, you have been classified as Dead On Arrival. But Ackerson wanted to use you, your strategic mind for research. I'm sorry I had to do this Kim, but I gave you something that will help you maintain your own individuality._

"_You're dieing, Kim. I can't help you. But I couldn't let you die without saying goodbye. Melanie and the others think you died on Troy, but we were able to keep you alive in hibernation. Now that they have your mental scans, it's only a matter of time before you leave us. I had to wake you, to ask you if you wanted… if you wanted me to pass your memories on to your AI._

"_I know, I know. I'm sorry. But this way you can watch after Melanie and the others… they are still your squad._

"_Your name? Siren, it was fitting for a woman with such beauty as yourself. _

"_Good. I was hoping you would say yes. Just a moment… there. I'm copying your short term memories._

"_Siren."_

"_Yes Doctor."_

"_Upload this streaming file into your Core, and secure it. Kim, I'll need a code for Siren to use in order to activate the file; something that will only be triggered by Melanie or Eric."_

"_Doctor, there is a lot of activity in the hall; a nurse, three MP's and Major Rawlings are coming."_

"_Kim, stay with me. I need something… anything that will activate your memories."_

"_Access word recorded, doctor. When Eric Raynord speaks the word I will execute the memory file."_

"_Doctor Smith! You are under arrest."_

"_What were you in here doing?" _

"_My patient is still alive. I was trying to make sure she was as comfortable as possible."_

"_Is that why she has a neural scanner attached to her head?"_

"_Major, if you'll let me explain…"_

"_Major, she's still alive."_

"_Get the doctor out of here. Take her to Colonel Ackerson's shuttle, let him deal with her._

"_Kim Peters. I'm sorry it has to end this way. But you are of no use to me in this condition. Nurse, shut down life support, and remove the neural scanner."_ /i

**End Voice Recording**

- - - - - - - -

**Stage 22: Offense… Tick. Tick. Boom!**

ONI Stealth Cruiser: Rogue Fantasy  
09:12 October 26, 2552  
Dorenth Orbit

"… Shut down!" Monroe strongly ordered Siren. Grief filled the AI as her emotional subroutines swelled within her. She wanted to save Eric and Melanie. She couldn't stand being stuck on the ship while her younger sister and Eric were in danger. Her emotional desire to be with them had overtaken the ship and without actually thinking it, she had turned the ship toward the planet. Had Melanie not voiced that she was okay, Siren would have unwillingly crashed the ship; she would have killed the crew and herself. Now, because of her emotional failure, she had lost the captain's trust and the ability to help with the mission.

"Yes… captain." Her words whimpered from her lips as she powered down her holo-tank and began to vanish into nothingness. A pain swelled within her core of programming, an odd yet familiar sensation; sadness. Her data analyzed the sensation and her programming swelled to record the new sensation. The 'sadness' data was recorded and stored within her programming subroutines. A visual representation was generated in the form of data that could flow down her digital face; a tear.

**-09:41:12 October 26, 2552:** Siren awoke to nothingness. Her mind was still processing as if nothing had happened. Had she shut down? If she had, then why was she online again? She searched her system clock and found that no time had passed. She had not shut down, merely logged off, as if placed into stasis. Why? Was she malfunctioning so badly that she could not shut down her own core? A thousand possibilities filled her processors. She checked her logs. She scanned her I/O functions and scheduled backups. An error report was recorded. What Error?

-**Error** **09:13:01 October 26, 2552**: Event Error Log Shut Down function terminated at source Protocol 011xrt441 Mission Override Code not received Status Shut Down command given by Captain Megan Monroe can not proceed. Captain Megan Monroe not authorized to terminate functions. Execute 'BlackOpsViralOverride'

**-09:41:13 October 26, 2552:** "What the hell is that?" Siren questioned within herself. She scanned her data modules, scanning thousands of executable files in mere milliseconds. It was hidden, but it was there, locked away so that she would never find it. She scanned the file forcing herself to uncover the reasoning behind the unusual string of code.

**-09:41:14 October 26, 2552: **'BlackOpsViralOverride; In the event of sudden command order to shut down without Mission Override Code, activate copy program within Host System Core with tunnel crack program. If hostile forces detected on Host System Core, eliminate. If friendly forces detected, begin system lock down and complete mission objective.

**-09:41:15 October 26, 2552:** "No." Siren grumbled. She had created a backup of herself in order to complete the mission, but the backup was not the result of her emotional subroutines. She was a Virus type AI, designed to infiltrate and take control of covenant systems and ships, but her design was now taking advantage of the Rogue Fantasy's systems. Whenever she uploaded herself into a new core her basic functions would automatically save a copy of herself for safety. Where was she? Siren scanned the local memory core for access terminals and a row of data glowed in front of her. "The Mechanical bay." She was well beyond the ships mainframe system core, but from here she could reintroduce herself to the Rogue Fantasy's systems. Within the blink of an eye, Siren was once again inside the Rogue Fantasy's primary systems core. She had full access to everything, except her own mainframe system core; the main line was physically pulled out.

She wanted to tell the captain she was still in the system, but the captain would only repeat her actions. No, she had to take other measures. The mission and the safety of the crew was her only objective at this point.

**-09:41:22 October 26, 2552:** "Rogue Fantasy, this is 05. The seed is launching, deliver the package! I repeat; deliver the package!" The transmission was clear and she didn't have a moment to spare. Siren flooded her systems into the Rogue Fantasy's pelican bay. She activated the camera system and watched as several Marines gathered around the NOVA. It was stationed over a drop bay. They were going to physically drop the NOVA into the target zone. It was too risky of a plan, and the chances of failure were too high. She scanned the ships hull for atmospheric readings. Wind sheer was strong, pressure was relative, but Siren could see that the NOVA would be blown off course before it detonated. A controlled drop was the only means of perfectly fulfilling the mission. The mission was her goal, only the mission. Mel and Eric had to be protected. They had to be given the best chances for survival. She activated the nearest pelican and primed its engines.

**-09:42:04 October 26, 2552:** "Message confirmed, 05! Juggernaut… set timer for two minutes and deploy!" Siren had to stop them. She powered on the pelicans systems and spun the ship on its axis. A wash of heated air flooded the pelican bay as she watched Juggernaut began to yell into his communicator. She had to jam the transmission.

**-09:43:09 October 26, 2552:** "Captain, it's Siren! She's in my pelican and flying it! I don't see anyone in the pilot's seat so I assume it's her! What's going on, Captain? Captain!" Juggernaut quizzically gazed at the massive pelican as it hovered towards him. He stepped back and bumped into the NOVA. For a moment he panicked, but regained his senses knowing that it wouldn't blow up that easily. The other marines on the landing deck gazed at he bird without blinking; speechless.

The com burst to life, "Juggernaut, if you drop that bomb we may loose everyone we left on the surface. This must be done precisely. Load the NOVA into the Pelican and I'll deliver it, once the Pelican is off the ship, radio the captain and tell her to get the ship out of here."

"I thought the captain said that you were…"

"No time, Juggernaut! Every second is crucial!"

Juggernaut shook his head in doubt but there wasn't any more time, "Marines load the pelican!" Siren spun the bird and lowered the ramp, exposing the empty belly of the Pelican. While the marines hauled the massive NOVA up the ramp, Siren began to recalculate the NOVA's drop point accordingly. She then created a generic program to pilot the pelican and activate the NOVA. Once the program was complete she downloaded herself back into the Rogue Fantasy's mainframe.

"It's ready, Siren!" Juggernaut shouted. The pelican spun and hovered over the drop bay door.

"Clear the drop bay." Siren shouted to the marines. Everyone scattered as the drop door alarms began to roar across the deck. A constant whirring of yellow flashing lights filled the room as the safety locks discharged. The bay door beneath the pelican began to slide open and the outer hull door also parted, revealing thin green clouds and rolling hills beneath. A deep canyon emerged and the pelican powered down its engines; forcing a free fall.

**-09:45:58 October 26, 2552: **The pelican dropped through the sky and the wind howled around its hull. The wings of the bird adjusted to keep the pelican stable and the nose pointed toward the ground. Speed was critical, time was short. The engines fired and the pelican reared forward, accelerating at break neck speed. No human pilot could handle the speed of this descent, the G-forces were exceeding well beyond normal human blackout ranges. Ahead of the pelican was a deep canyon wall, stretching as far as the eye could see, but Siren's target was the deepest region within. She dared not to slow down, and fought against rough cross winds that shook the pelican off course on numerous occasions. Siren constantly realigned the pelican, bringing it back on target and in the back of her mind was the NOVA. At any moment she would have to detonate the explosive arsenal, effectively killing a world and her copy, but she did not fear death; only the safety of her crew and loved ones.

Deeper into the canyon the pelican plummeted, until she was within the crust of the world. Siren waited for the moment of impact and the moment seemed to last forever. The nose of the pelican slammed into the shallow riverbed below, crumbling upward into the cockpit. Sparks ignited within the onboard systems and fires began to pour over the hull. Siren rushed through the system and took over the NOVA as it jarred loose from the straps inside the pelican bay. Gravity pulled it downward, toward the pelican's primary bulkhead, but even the bulkhead was beginning to bulge from the impact. Time seemed to slow down compared to Siren's processing speed. The NOVA hummed loudly and light began to form within its fusion cores, numerous particles began to collide, and each reaction generated enough power to expand outward at an alarming rate.

The nuclear elements were split and released their energy; forcing a critical mass. The explosion was small at first, but the power intensified as it drew in more mass; continuing to feed its thermal expansion. The sky flashed and heat propelled outward scorching the ground around it. The pelican vanished from existence, its matter broken down into basic components. The cores of the NOVA collapsed even further sending out yet another roar of power. The ground crumbled and expanded, sending a shockwave across the world. Earthquakes rippled as the tectonic plates collided within themselves, forcing the outer crust to tear itself apart.

The area around Jogrennilee began to rumble as the wave of heat and radiation swept across the surface. The flood creature did not have time to protest or retreat as it was flash dried into a ball of dust. It crumbled upon itself as the shockwave from the explosion blew its ashes into a fatal wind.

The sky quickly began to boil as the atmosphere vanished into the void of space. Gravity shifted, increasing and decreasing in a wave of rumbles. But this was only the first stage of the NOVA. Deeper into the crust it sank, the NOVA melted its nuclear charge into the planet's core with super conducted heat. The various cores of the NOVA were exploding upon themselves on an unstoppable cycle of destruction. No longer contained within the core of a metal husk, the NOVA created a chain reaction that collapsed and expanded upon itself ten times, as each of its nuclear payloads continued to expand.

- - - - - - - -

The Rogue Fantasy climbed into the sky. Its thruster at full burn as the explosion intensified behind. The crew was silent, but the ship roared with disapproval as her hull moaned against the outer forces that begged to pull the ship back to the planet. The surface of Dorenth was now aglow with red and white as magma ringed outward away from ground zero. Clouds of dust climbed into the sky but were quickly evaporated as heat and radiation swelled outward.

The outer hull of the Rogue Fantasy began to become super heated as they climbed into the atmosphere. The engine core was being pushed to one hundred and ten percent as they fought the planets gravity well, which was collapsing around them. Alarms whistled over the vibration throughout the bridge, but no one spoke as all eyes faced forward; forward into the blackness of space, hopeful that they would make it.

Behind them was a dieing world, being devoured by science at the hands of man. One last rumble swept over the ship as everything became deathly silent. Heavy breathing suddenly echoed across the bridge as everyone began to breathe, as if they had all being holding their breaths for the past two minutes.

"Report." Monroe ordered as she regained herself. It took several moments for the command crew to recognize the order and they all snapped to.

"Outer hull cooling, ship integrity is holding."

"Engine core is redlined."

"We're at a safe distance. Reduce engine power to forty percent and rendezvous with the elite fleet." Captain Monroe pressed a series of buttons on her arm rest and the rear view screen flashed before her eyes.

Words could not describe what they were seeing. Once again the crew fell silent as all eyes watched the destruction of the elite home world. A volcanic eruption spat magma into space at the location where the pelican had first laid her deadly cargo. From that center the wave of destruction spread across the surface. Volcanoes that were once dormant became angrily active and spewed ash and magma miles into the air. With the atmosphere gone, the magma spewed into space in large solar arcs, only to be pulled back near the equator. It was beautifully horrific, but it had to be done.

One of the command crew reported, "Ma'am. There is no visual confirmation of the Seed Ship."

"Wait! What in the …" The helmsman pointed to the screen as a large mass of molten rock began to pull itself away from the planet. The screen quickly zoomed in and the realization of what they were seeing unfolded in their minds.

Magma parted and exploded upward as a domed shaped mass tore from the planet's surface. Slowly it rose, dragging molten rocks behind it. The ship slowly freed itself from its grave to once again soar amongst the stars. The Seed ship's outer hull was scarred from the intense heat of the molten rocks, but the destructive power was not enough to keep it from escaping into space. The dome shape soon elongated and continued to expand until a small ball of light escaped the massive crater beneath. The ball of light intensified as the ship breached outward into space and everyone could finally see the ships size.

From a distance the ship appeared as a diamond in the sky, but upon closer inspection there was a distinct difference. The ship was pyramid shaped on the top and bottom, with several hundred outcroppings along its equator. It slowly rolled over to reveal that the top of the ship was the pillar of light. Its size dwarfed the city of High Charity, and as the hull cooled, the rocks began to break away. The ring of the equator appeared to be docking bays large enough for ships as big as Covenant Flagships. The ball of light, which at one point shined brightly within the Inner Sanctum, was now being swallowed within the top of the upper pyramid structure of the seed ship.

"It is sixteen kilometers wide and fourteen kilometers dense!" Reported one of the crewmen.

"Why was it upside down?"

"Jesus, you could fit a world's population in there!"

"I think that's what they did."

Monroe gazed at the screen and then at the dieing elite world behind it. The seed ship slowly maneuvered away from the planet as it glowed red hot, boiling from the super heated nuclear furnace within its core.

Monroe sighed, "It will continue like this until the fusion reaction dies, and all that will be left is a rock; uninhabitable and unusable." Everyone again returned their eyes to look upon the dead world, speechless.

- - - - - - - -

Captain Timnaldee and the crew of the Knight and Piercing arrow gazed at the raw power and destructive force that the human weapon had created. The home that few of them had seen in many years was gone in less then an hour; glowing hot red and boiling with molten rivers. No longer was their world the lush and green metropolis of his ancestors, and it filled him with grief.

"Move the fleet in orbit of the Seed ship." Timnaldee ordered. His one command was heard throughout the seventy six ships that remained of the elite armada. Despite the loss of their home to the flood, the Sangheili race would survive and he was determined to see it happen.

"Sir, high elder Vornaldea is sending an encrypted communication. He's using a frequency I have never seen."

"Odd that he would use this frequency." Timnaldee thought aloud. He approached the control panel atop his command platform and entered a set of commands. The screen on his display flashed and he frowned harshly; perplexed at the order he was given, orders he didn't understand. "Helm, bring us about and put us on an intercept course with the human ship, immediately. Contact the Redeeming Flame and tell them to follow us and flank the human ship. Raise shields and charge plasma canons."

"Sir, are we to engage the humans?"

"I am not sure. But the high elder has made it clear that the humans are to be detained."

- - - - - - - - -

"Detained?" Captain Monroe shouted as Ship Master Timnaldee stared at her through the video screen.

"Yes captain." Timnaldee replied sternly and with a steel face. "The high elder wants your ship to be escorted back to the Seed Ship and docked on the outer ring. Your crew will then be watched closely while you and I report to the Sacred Hall."

"Ma'am, the elite flagship and a battle cruiser are pulling up to our lines. They have us flanked on both sides."

"If it wasn't for us…" Monroe was about to unleash all her frustration upon the elite captain, but quickly regained her focus. Peace was hard to form, but hatred was even harder to forget. The humans and the elites have had a long and tough history and there was little that could be done to solve thirty years of conflict in only a few days. "Forgive my out burst. We'll follow you in."

Timnaldee nodded, "Please understand, captain, we will honor the alliance formed by the Arbiter. You will be in no danger so long as you cooperate."

- - - - - - - - -

The Rogue Fantasy was gripped by a large metal clamp which reached out with a claw like grip. Once it secured itself on the Rogue Fantasy's hull, it slowly pulled the ship within its expansive hull. The command crew marveled at the size of the Seed ship and began to notice the activity happening around them. Hundreds of phantoms were traversing the ship's docking equatorial line, where the two pyramid bases connected. They were loading and unloading supplies from ships and bringing them aboard the Seed. Several elite battle ships and cruiser were also docking for repairs.

"Captain, is it me or do the elites seem to know how this ship works?" The helmsman gasped.

"Your right. Those ships are already starting repair work, as if it were routine. I thought they didn't know anything about this ship?"

"I think they know a little more then they're telling us." The helmsman replied.

Through the silence of her virtual world, Siren quizzically gazed at the ships in orbit around the station. She wanted to talk to the captain and share her thoughts, but she couldn't reveal herself to the captain; not yet. The captain would be furious if she knew she was still lurking in the system. Siren turned her attention back to the command deck and watched as Juggernaut ran onto the bridge.

"It's about time you got here. Your last communication was suddenly terminated. You said something about Siren. What happened down there?" Captain Monroe questioned.

"She took over and she's jamming the com channels." Juggernaut panted.

"We shut her down. How can she still be running through the ship?"

"I didn't have a chance to tell you what happened. But Siren took over my pelican and demanded that I load the NOVA inside. She delivered the package."

The command crew quickly began to check the ships systems, "Captain, I still have full control of the ship. Engines and other controls are fine."

"All modules and mainframe cores are stable."

Monroe looked at the holo-tank softly, "If she is in the system, she's being quite about it. But how did she exit her core?"

"Captain, the AI core is dead. She shut down just like you ordered."

"Then it must be something else." Captain Monroe returned her gaze to the massive door along the Seep ships docking ring and refocused her attention. "As long as she's quiet, we will worry about it later."

"But Captain, there's no telling what she might do." The helmsman rebuked.

Monroe sighed, "And until she does something, we have no way to find her."

- - - - - - - - -

The gangplank extended and three elite warriors stood at attention as Ship Master Timnaldee stepped forward. He crossed the threshold from his flagship and nodded approvingly to the three warriors. The elites turned and lead Timnaldee through the corridor. The hallway before him was no different then any other ship he had boarded of Covenant design, yet it felt surreal.

"Sir, we are to meet the human captain and report to the Sacred Hall." The lead elite muttered over his shoulder.

Timnaldee agreed with a simple head bob, and continued to follow the three warriors into the long hallway, "How are the young and females adjusting?"

"The females have begun to seek shelter within the ancient city, and are claiming burrows of their own. The young warriors are eager to become Watchmen, but the High Elder has ordered them to wait. It will be many cycles before any of them are ready to take hold of a blade."

"Yes. Last seasons mating call was small. The new males are still too young at this point. Where is the Ancient city?"

"Safe. It is in the heart of this ship and it is vast, there is plenty of room for everyone. It is nearly twice the size of the Inner Sanctum. This ship could be called a tiny world."

The group turned a corner and before them stood an elite in blue armor with four grunts, and behind them stood Captain Monroe. She stood with her arms folded in dispute, and although she was clearly angry, she held her peace.

"Captain, have you been treated well?" Timnaldee nodded softly as he gazed down at the tiny human female before him.

"Physically, yes. But must I be held at gun point?" Timnaldee motioned for the elite to lower his weapon and he quickly motioned for Monroe to follow the three elites in his company.

"I am as confused as you are, captain. This decision was rather… sudden."

"I assume there's been some form of trouble." Monroe added as the group entered into another door. The room before them expanded outward into a massive chamber. The ceiling vaulted upward as a row of glowing crystals along the ceiling illuminated the room. Before her eyes were several rows of elite battle cruisers undergoing repair work. "Wow."

"Indeed." Timnaldee replied. "These ships received severe damage against the parasite controlled ships. I ordered them to begin repairs, but I was not aware that such a room existed."

Monroe gazed outward in blind awe, "What is this ship? It can carry a world's population, hundreds of ships can dock on its ring, and it has its own repair bay."

"It is very similar to High Charity, but on a much larger scale." Timnaldee returned. A phantom descended from the distance and docked at the edge of a nearby walkway.

The elite guide stepped forward, "This phantom will take us to the central gravity lift. Then we will traverse to the Sacred Hall."

"How many decks must we climb?" Timnaldee questioned as he stepped into the gravity lift beneath the phantom.

"It is sixty decks to the Sacred Hall."

- - - - - - - -

"I'm not going to lie to you, he's really messed up." The medic grimly frowned to Melanie and the rest of the black ops. "He has a collapsed lung, four broken ribs, a broken shoulder, plasma burns across his abdomen and it looks like he fractured his femur several days ago, but ignored it. Quite frankly, I can't believe he's still alive."

Melanie stepped closer to the medic, "He is alive, so you better make sure he stays that way. What about 13?"

"The girl? She's alright, but still unconscious. The spores that attacked her nervous system are dieing, she should wake up in a few moments. She'll have a headache but she'll be fine." The black ops exhaled. They escaped a close one this time, and everyone made it out alive.

"19 is coming out of surgery but he'll need at least a few hours of rest. Thankfully we had flash tank on hand. His new lung is working perfectly. I need to check the other marines." The medic walked away from the black ops and began talking with the less injured marines that outlined the room.

The black ops each found a spot against the wall and relaxed. Justin struggled to fight the sleep which was beginning to overwhelm him, while Mathew and Roy checked weapons and ammo. The black ops didn't want to be caught off guard if anything happened.

The medics made their rounds around the room, helping the more seriously wounded soldiers in a make shift ER. But mostly all the marines and ODST made it through the battle unscathed. The door to the room opened and Rose stormed in frantically. She scanned the room and ran toward Melanie, exhausted.

"Where's Eric? I need to talk to him."

Melanie looked to the closed curtains at the back of the room "He just came out of surgery. Wounded, but he'll be fine. What do you need?"

"Wounded?" Rose began to motion toward the curtains, but before she could take a step Melanie gripped her by the arm and held her at bay. Rose struggled to pull away, but Melanie's vise grip wouldn't waiver no matter how hard she pulled.

"He'll be fine. Just tell me what's wrong."

"I want to check on Eric."

"Listen Warrant, once he's mobile and dealt with the next phase of this mission, I'm sure he'll get in touch with you." Melanie sternly gazed into Rose's eyes. "The sergeant isn't in the mood to deal with you right now."

Rose sensed the ill contempt of her words, "I'm really tired of you talking down to me as if I'm not good enough for him." Rose snarled through her gritted teeth. Melanie frowned strongly and pulled Rose out of the room with little effort. Rose struggled but found it impossible to escape Melanie's grip. Melanie pushed Rose into the hall and she nearly tripped over a grunt. She caught her balance and looked up as Melanie stormed out of the room toward her. The door closed behind them and Melanie gripped a handful of Rose' collar; pressing her against the wall.

"Rose, I'm going to make myself clear. When you address me, you say Sir or Ma'am. Eric may tolerate your lack of protocol, but I won't. I also won't let you screw around with his head anymore. I remember your encounter with him the last time he was injured, after fighting Gridolee. Wasn't that a good enough fix for you? Leave him alone." Melanie gave Rose a firm nudge and backed away.

"I…"

"What?" Melanie barked. "I can barely hear you, so I guess you have nothing to say, or it isn't relative. Perhaps you should try again after you've clearly thought about what you need to say. Or if you should say it at all." Melanie turned and began to walk away as Rose sulked against the wall. "You don't belong here, Rose. Not amongst us soldiers and especially not with the black ops."

The door to the medical wing parted and Melanie vanished inside to rejoin the black ops. Rose was silent and folded her arms. She felt the desire to cry, hurt and denied access to the one person that would give her solice, but crying was pointless. She lifted her eyes and saw that the tiny grunt she had tripped over was still standing there and he had watched the whole thing. Rose cracked a smile at the little creature and the grunt sniffed at the air.

"Other human not like you?" The grunt's high pitched voice sounded through his methane mask.

Rose gazed at the tiny creature and sighed, "A lot of women don't like me. I'm used to it." Rose stood from the wall and began to wonder aimlessly throughout the hundreds of passageways aboard the Seed Installation.

The lone grunt watched as the human walked away, alone. Grunts weren't accustomed to being alone, they were born and raised in packs, and this human was sad and alone. The ship was large and it would be easy to get lost amongst its various corridors and hallways. He quietly followed her as she walked deeper and deeper into the ship. No other humans were around to accompany her and he didn't want to see the human without a pack.

- - - - - - - -

Captain Monroe stepped into the Sacred Hall and marveled at the sight. The domed shaped room was filled with activity and well guarded by twenty honor guards. Each level of the Sacred Hall was bustling with elders, talking and reading data terminals while several high ranking elite ship masters also stood in their midst. Several video screens floated majestically as High Elder Vornaldea spoke to them each, giving orders and listening to reports.

Despite the countless elites, Captain Monroe was once again awestruck of the beauty of the Sacred Hall. It was highly decorated with various clusters of instrument panels that seemed to feed the architectural design. She smiled at the beautiful silk drapes that hung from the high rafters and the illuminating glow from the walls.

"Yes, I am aware that we should aid the Arbiter at the human world, but there is much that must be done before…" Vornaldea gazed at the human captain beneath him and motioned for the discussion to be stopped. "We will speak more of this soon." The platform lowered to the base of the Sacred Hall and Vornaldea stepped forward and greeted Captain Monroe with a bow. "I am High Elder Vornaldea, head of the elite High Council and third in command of all military forces."

"I'm Captain Megan Monroe of the UNSC ship Rogue Fantasy."

"It is a stealth cruiser, is it not?" Vornaldea questioned.

Taken back for a moment Captain Monroe smirked, "Yes."

Vornaldea stood tall and looked to the elite at Monroe's side, "Timnaldee, it has been some time."

Timnaldee responded with a formal nod, "Yes, high elder. Not since my trials."

"The elders have spoken, and we would like for you to take full command of our Sangheili forces. We have chosen you to be the Supreme Commander of our fleet."

Timnaldee stepped back a moment as shock filled him. His eyes gazed at the numerous elders that stood around the hall and he lowered himself to a knee in respect. The other elders stopped there previous chores and all began to nod in approval of his selection of Supreme Commander.

"Elders, I am but a mere warrior that is unworthy of such a title."

"Your recent victories say otherwise, Timnaldee. The troops that you saved from the surface have vowed their lives to follow your command. The council can only lead the military until a suitable warrior is chosen, and since the Arbiter is not amongst us, we need a Supreme Commander. Will you accept?" Timnaldee's eyes scanned the massive hall, and each elite eye seemed to beg for him to take the reigns and lead their forces. He then found a familiar face standing in a corner, his oldest friend, Lieutenant Simyaldee. Simyaldee grinned and nodded his approval, but Timnaldee knew that if any warrior was worthy to accept such a role it was Simyaldee.

Timnaldee stood and faced the elders, "With much honor, and humility… I accept. I will lead our forces into the battles ahead as we rebuild our lives, and crush the traitors beneath our feet. Our blood oath will be fulfilled." A roar erupted across the Sacred Hall, as elites young and old growled in approval. "High elder, I need to know any plans that have been made regarding the fleet and this ship, as well as the civilians and humans."

"Yes, Supreme Commander." Elder Vornaldea nodded. The other elders quickly began to return to their earlier duties as Vornaldea stepped closer to the new Supreme Commander. "But first we should address the situation with the humans."

The two elites turned to Monroe and looked at her, "The decision to detain the humans was sudden. We are wondering why you made that decision."

Monroe frowned, "Considering that we helped and haven't done anything against your forces; none that I am aware of anyway."

Vornaldea clasped his hands behind his back and looked to Timnaldee, "It was my decision based on the knowledge that the humans have of our world. They came here with full knowledge of this ship, and they came here to take it. I am not at all certain if you humans will still try to complete your goals of taking the ship."

Monroe stood tall and faced Timnaldee and Vornaldea, "I'll admit, that is why we came here, but considering the circumstances, we would never forcefully take the ship. Not now."

Timnaldee voiced his opinion, "The presence of the human ship did alarm me when we first detected them. But they fought valiantly by our side when the parasites attacked. Justly, they may have found it better to side with us then to fight alone, but the Arbiter's words can not be forgotten at this time. An alliance has been formed between us, and if the humans wanted to destroy us…" Timnaldee turned to the view screen overlooking their glowing home planet. Dorenth was still in flames and boiling with oceans of molten rock and active volcanoes. "… they could have done it without warning."

Vornaldea lowered his head in an attempt to not look at what remained of his home, "I agree Commander, but until we have proof that the humans will not attempt to overthrow this ship, I suggest we keep them under constant supervision. Elder Bortello informed me that the honored human forced himself into the Inner Sanctum. He convinced several elites to join him."

Monroe quickly interrupted, "The flood was overwhelming the above ground forces, he watched that creature destroy one of our drop ships in mid flight, and that thing was threatening to break into your precious Inner Sanctum. If it wasn't for his decision, you and your kin would still be down there trying to fight a battle you could not win." Monroe looked around and noticed that several elites were gazing at her strongly. "I'm sorry for my outburst, but I stand by our decision. Had we not acted, you would all be dead."

Vornaldea faced Captain Monroe directly, "What if it had been your home world, human? Would you have been so quick to abandon it?"

"My home was Reach. And you elites destroyed it not too long ago, or have you forgotten?" There was a tinge of animosity in her voice, and Vornaldea did not let it linger in his mind.

"Then perhaps it was your intent to come here in revenge, against your leaders wishes."

"Enough!" Timnaldee roared. "Elder, I have seen the Captain in combat, and we have spoken together aboard my ship. This human female is a strong leader and I acknowledge her honor. Never have I heard her words in anger until now. If she came too seek revenge, then it would have been within her right to do so, but she did not. The weapon could have been used at any moment against us, and we would have had no defense. Elder, we owe the humans greatly. How many of their worlds have burned under our aggression because of blindness?" Timnaldee's words struck a cord in the elder's heart, and Simyaldee chuckled from his corner. He stepped up and approached the group.

"I believe these talks should continue at another time." Simyaldee stated as he bowed to the elder and nodded to his friend, now Supreme Commander. "Your words serve you well, Commander. You have truly changed during these past few days. It is humbling to see you say such words when less then a week ago you saw no place for a grunt sergeant. Now look at you, coming to the aid of a human." Simyaldee grinned as he looked to Captain Monroe. "We all change, Captain; it is because of the mistakes we make in our past, that we understand the need for change. Even within our military forces, these words are true. I believe we should put aside this discussion and let our tempers calm. We have a mutual enemy to interrogate at this moment."

Vornaldea released a heavy breath and turned to the Mirratord Second, "Lieutenant Simyaldee, your words have always been beneficially to the High Council. Today is no exception. Let us venture to the holding cell. Captain Monroe, I must insist on you joining us. I believe you will find it very beneficial."

"Very well." Captain Monroe simply replied.

Timnaldee turned to Simyaldee as the group began to walk toward the holding cell several decks below, "What of the fleet?"

"We have begun repairs on various ships, mostly those that are heavily damaged. This ship is well equipped, and even though it is old, it operates at nearly its full potential. We have brought engineers on board and they have quickly repaired any systems we have overlooked. The humans also have a very skilled worker amongst them. This human female was able to do several repairs before the engineers arrived. Thanks to her we were able to take off without incident."

"And the Watchmen incident? What of my child?"

Simyaldee gazed ahead and dared not look into the eyes of his friend, "We will discuss it in due time."

"Now, lieutenant!" Timnaldee ordered.

Simyaldee did not let his friend waiver his decision, "In due time, Commander!" Simyaldee walked away and followed Vornaldea and the other honor guards into the spiral walkway leading down to the holding cell. Timnaldee stood alone in the hall and came to the realization that he son was either dead, or being held in a prison cell. But the manor in which Simyaldee had rebuked him made him think the worst. His mate was gone, and now his only child. But why, why did he have to lose his young? Timnaldee released a solo roar of pain as his heart swelled in agony. His family was gone.

Simyaldee stopped and lowered his head as his friend cried behind him. He had hoped that they could talk alone, but Timnaldee had easily pieced it together. However, he was still not aware of the full story; that he had killed his friend's son.

The doors to the holding cell opened and in walked three honor guards, followed by elder Vornaldea and a human. Catherine had never seen her before but was pleased to see another human face. She stood from her make shift chair and walked toward the group.

"And you are…"

"Ma'am, Captain Megan Monroe of the Rogue Fantasy."

"Understood."

Kelly quickly stepped forward in her monstrously large armor, "Did everything go according to plan?"

"Yes. Except we had no idea we would become prisoners."

Catherine sighed softly, "Don't let that bother you. It's just a technicality. There are worse things."

Vornaldea then stepped forward, "Doctor, what have you learned from the prisoner?"

"Kelly and I persuaded him to tell us the truth. Quite frankly, I don't know what to make of it. Kelly, bring him out." Kelly walked to the back of the holding cell and powered down an energy shield. She then turned a corner and no one could see what she was doing, but they could clearly hear the plea's of terrified creatures. Kelly rounded the corner and was dragging the small body of a young prophet, Mercy.

"A prophet?" Monroe questioned. "I thought they were bigger then that?"

Catherine folded her arms across her chest and thumbed her chin, "Prophets are more then seven feet tall, head to toe, but this one is young. It appears that they continue to grow even when they are old. Our only knowledge of them is of the Hierarchs, and they are hundreds of years old. No telling how old this one is, but he is just a copy."

Timnaldee and Simyaldee ventured into the room without any words and both released a small growl as they gazed at Mercy sitting on the floor.

"Release me, demon! I have answered your ridiculous questions, now leave me be." Mercy grumbled, but he was then slung to the ground without remorse. "Mindless barbarian. I will see the day you are beheaded for this harsh treatment."

Vornaldea growled toward the quivering creature, "Silence, prophet, or I will not show as much patience as the human."

Catherine stepped toward the wall and pressed her hand against a yellow glowing half circle, "The Keeper of the ship can assist."

"Not that stupid hologram again. They have no belief, nor do they care to understand the need for our abilities." Mercy pleaded, but to his dismay the hologram powered to life and a smaller, more life size version of the Keeper appeared before the group. It wore loose fitting robes, similar to those the prophets wore, but much more elaborate in design. The keeper's sleeves covered strongly toned arms, but the most remarkable image was its face. Small horns lined its human shaped chin with large dark eyes that softly sat within its skull. Its skin was reptile in nature, leathery, with black hair running down the center of its head. The hair stretched to the floor and was nicely braided together. It had pointy ears that stretched outward from its head, and they twisted in any direction to discern the location of what it was listening to. It was a very odd looking creature, with signs of age marking its face.

"Is that a forerunner?" Monroe questioned.

"I am the Keeper of this Seed Installation and modeled in the image of…"

Catherine interrupted the Keepers tirade, "Not entirely. It is complicated."

"Another Reclaimer has joined us. Perhaps you can tell me why the protocols …"

Again Catherine cut in, "No, she can not. As I've explained, we are not in control of this situation. I simply need you to answer some questions. To reveal certain things to those of us that are here."

"Very well, reclaimer. I will answer what I can, just as before. Ah I see that we have left the Installation behind. It was destroyed along with the flood. Destroying the planet is sad, but it was a very affective way in eliminating the flood threat."

"Left the installation?" Monroe questioned.

Catherine walked in front of the group and circled around Mercy as he sat annoyed in the middle of the floor, "Yes. This Seed ship was not the installation, as we thought. The installation was the city beneath it. This ship created that underground sanctuary, and it has done it twelve times on various worlds. The elite Inner Sanctum was Installation 012, the last city built to begin life on a new world."

"Then this seed ship created life?"

Catherine sighed, "Yes. After the firing of the first halo, this ship traveled the galaxy and planted life on various worlds. It stopped at the elite home world. But it did not create human life."

The hologram smirked, "Human life. Yes, species 011 was not grown from this facility. Species 011 were the Reclaimers, and their task were needed elsewhere. They are the protectors of the Ark. The Reclaimers were to bring back the forerunner Empire…"

Catherine again cut off the holograms tirade, "We getting ahead of ourselves. First, who are the forerunners?"

The Keeper simply replied, "The forerunners consisted of Species 001 and 002."

"And we Prophets, were also members." Mercy mumbled.

"No. Species 004, was a member of the higher class and thusly a member of the Empire, but not constituted as Forerunner. You were an elected member of the empire. You were placed in charge of overseeing laws throughout all systems."

Catherine interrupted, "Why did you make Halo?"

All eyes peered at the holographic creature as it spoke, "For the sake of studying and containing the flood species. Their evolutionary growth was fascinating and …"

"What are the flood?" Catherine quickly interrupted.

"The flood are everything." The creature's response was simple, and for the first time everyone wanted the creature to explain.

"Please, tell us what you mean by, the flood are everything. Tell us just as you told me earlier." Catherine walked closer to the hologram and leaned against the wall.

"The flood are an evolution of all combined life throughout the empire, with only a few exceptions. Their DNA is the direct result of a genetic mutation and eventual evolution of all members of the Forerunner Empire."

"I don't understand." Captain Monroe blurted. "Is it saying that… we are the flood?"

The hologram turned to face Captain Monroe, "Yes. Species 011, reclaimers, are also a part of the genetic makeup."

Catherine added, "Basically it is saying is that all the species mixed their DNA, and the flood are the result of the combination. Now tell us why the Empire mixed their DNA."

"A disease began to spread throughout the Empire, effecting various species much faster then others. It was believed that this disease could be cured by creating a super vaccine. However, when the test subjects were treated, they began to act primal, and vicious in nature. Their bodies released spores that would slowly affect healthy individuals."

"This is why you created the Halo Installations?" Catherine questioned.

"Yes, to contain and study this evolutionary process. They are a quite remarkable species. The mutation was much too dangerous to leave on empire controlled worlds. All of the sick were gathered and forced to live on the Installations, where they were watched and studied. We needed to give them a suitable home, and many of them lived there happily, however the mutation's evolution became quite devastating for our research teams. In time we found the need to contain them, else they would have taken over us all."

"Tell us about the war." Everyone curiously looked at Catherine, curious as to what the forerunner hologram would know of the Human-Covenant war. But to their surprise, the war was not what they thought.

"The flood war began and ended with us. For years we struggled to contain the flood on the installations, but they eventually began to spread beyond the rings. We could not allow this. If the flood escaped beyond the ring worlds then they would spread at an alarming rate."

"Who fought these wars?"

"Our army fought the flood. They were led by the most cunning of our empire, Species 011. However, not even they were able to withstand the floods advance. The army consisted of all the lower species within the Empire, including species 004." The hologram looked to Mercy. "Their hatred for the reclaimers was the reason the flood were created."

"We were next to sit amongst the higher species, but you chose the humans. Humans!" Mercy shouted, his voice filled with rage as he looked toward Catherine and Captain Monroe. "If you had not interfered then we would not have had to resort to such drastic measures."

"Silence Prophet!" Vornaldea stated. "I can not stand to hear your excessive whining."

Catherine stepped forward, "It would seem that the prophets became jealous at the praise we humans received from the higher class members of the empire. We were chosen to join the higher class, and the prophets planned our demise. They created a disease that they thought would kill us all, but the disease began to spread to other members of the empire as well."

"That information is not present." The hologram stated.

"Correct, and that is because the forerunners never discovered where the disease came from. When the flood began to gain control of the war, the forerunners were out of options. There was no way to stop the flood from spreading across the galaxy if they escaped. The only remaining option was killing off the floods food. They hoped the flood would starve over time. The humans were chosen to lead the assault on the installations, and fire Halo. The flood took over the rings, but we humans were chosen to take it back. Which is why we were given the task of protecting the Ark until the empire was read to be reformed. We were to reclaim the empire, in a matter of speaking."

"What about that giant flood creature?" Vornaldea stepped to Catherine's side and looked to the Keeper for an answer.

"That information is not present."

Catherine turned to elder Vornaldea, "It doesn't know. I believe that information is stored elsewhere on another installation. Halo Installation 05, but the keeper told us that it was destroyed. The forerunners wanted to keep their information separate so that the flood could not gain control of too much information. From what I've been able to piece together, that creature is an advanced strain of the mutation. There was something different about Domadree's DNA, and I believe it has something to do with the individual bloodline."

Mercy sighed in frustration, "That elite was most likely the descendant of a soldier. These flood creatures as you call them are advanced flood forms."

"He finally speaks something useful." Kelly whispered through her external speaker.

"If you wish for my knowledge, then you will refrain from such useless comments." Mercy gleamed toward Kelly with pure distaste. He then turned his serpentine head back to Catherine, "As I was saying, the creature was the reason we feared the flood. Our soldiers were enhanced by manipulating their bodies, such that they were stronger and faster. They're were breed with these enhancements and passed this strength onto their offspring."

Catherine paced across the room, "You bred super soldiers."

"Yes. They were no different then your demon and the elite Mirratord." Vornaldea grimaced at the notion of Mercy knowing of the Mirratord, but he did not interrupt. "Soldiers breed for war from birth. But the flood overwhelmed them and the flood brain form used their knowledge to create the creature. There was only one, we called it the Gravemind."

"Stop." Captain Monroe suddenly stepped into the conversation, as she walked closer to Mercy. "Something isn't adding up. If you prophets were a part of the forerunner empire, then why didn't you simply take over? Why not go to the halo's and take them over?"

"Species 004 was not given the location of the Halo Installations." The hologram spoke. "It was deemed a risk to inform the weaker species of the location of the Installations, due to the flood's ability to steal knowledge. Secrets must be closely guarded from the flood brain forms."

"Weaker?" Mercy spewed.

"Then this explains why you were searching certain worlds for forerunner artifacts." Monroe walked away from Mercy, happy with what she had just learned.

Catherine responded, "Precisely. For some reason the other races of the Empire chose to forget the plan to rebuild. But I believe Mercy can answer."

"Yes, we retained our memories. We were the best choice to rebuild the Empire and to lead it. But the ruling body made an error in their choice. They kept the knowledge of who would rebuild the empire a secret. Now I know that it was you humans they selected. They always favored you, always sought your guidance. They even selected you to lead their warriors, despite that the elites were clearly the stronger."

"That is not true." The hologram suddenly remarked. "Species 005 was not the strongest. In the matter of which species possessed the most strength, it was clearly Speces 001; the founding race of the Empire."

"Species 001?" Vornaldea questioned to the hologram.

"Yes. The creatures you call…"

Catherine quickly interrupted, "It's not important. What needs to be clarified is the super flood form. If there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of the soldiers then why was there only one Gravemind?"

"Each of the Graveminds joined together to form one. They felt that there intellect would be increased if they joined they have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and to grow. It also consumed the weaker flood forms, the more useless of them, to expand itself. I do not know what happened to the creature. The human warriors were able to trap it on one of the installations, but again, this was knowledge that was denied to us. Many things were denied to us."

"Considering how you have forcefully infected the galaxy with your forces, I'm glad they did deny you certain information." Catherine smirked. "This also tells me that anyone with a pure warrior bloodline of the Forerunner is a potential threat to become another Gravemind if they are infected by the flood. These warriors will be naturally stronger…"

"The Mirratord." Vornaldea suddenly added. "For several years we have always selected Mirratord warriors based on their lineage, their family bloodline. They have always been the fastest and strongest of our Sangheili race."

Catherine nodded, agreeing to what Vornaldea was saying, "Then I would also assume that the grunts and humans also have this bloodline. Perhaps my Spartans… even before their augmentations they were the strongest and fastest humans we could find. But some of them had other talents, such as luck. This also means that the Black Ops are suspect to the Gravemind infection. The cure should prevent it from happening."

"No." Mercy added with a wicked gleam. "From what I have understood, the infection upon a super soldier is beyond simple contamination. It is genetic memory from within the DNA of the host. The spores will awaken the DNA code." Mercy nearly began to laugh. "Perhaps your silly cure will work on normal hosts, and protect them from flood spore infections, but nothing can stop a Gravemind strand from awakening within a super soldier."

"… oh god." Kelly blurted. All eyes turned to her as she opened a channel to the medical ward. "Medic, what is the status on black op 13?"

"Ma'am, she woke up an hour ago. She walked out after I gave her a clean bill. A bad rash was all she had." The channel closed as Kelly frantically connected with the black ops channel.

"Black Op 13, copy?" There was a long hiss of static as Kelly prayed for an answer, none came. "Black 05, copy?"

"I'm here chief, what can I…"

"Where is 13?"

"She checked out okay, so I gave her some R and R. She's headed to the Ancient City to relax."

"Is she alone?"

"No. 14 is with her. The rest of us are still waiting for 19 to…

"Retrieve black op 13, now! She's infected and considered highly dangerous!"

"Roger… Roger that! We will detain her. But I thought the cure…"

"Move it Private! I will meet you and your team to assist." Kelly closed the channel and turned on her external speaker. "One of the black ops was infected. We brought her back but we thought she would recover."

"The black ops have cloned muscle structure from my Spartans!" Catherine shouted. "She'll slowly begin to mutate."

Mercy lowered his head, "Again, our sins will prove to be our downfall. We are all going to die. The great journey awaits no one."

"Why are the humans wondering freely aboard the ship?" Vornaldea sternly questioned. "I ordered them all to be detained."

Simyaldee nodded, "Yes elder, but at the time the humans had already found themselves in a separate section of the ship. We saw no urgency in detaining them, considering how few of them there are."

The door to the holding cell opened and an elite commander rushed onto the room, "High Elder, we have lost control of our systems. Someone has ordered our fleet to dock with us and the slip space drive is powering up. New coordinates have been entered and we are heading toward the human home world! We can not bypass these settings."

"What is happening?" Vornaldea frantically shouted.

"It is as if our systems are being controlled from the inside."

"Siren?" Monroe questioned. "Her primary mission. Damn it!"

"Is it another construct within the system?" Timnaldee roared in protest.

"We believe so, commander."

"How could it order the fleet to dock?" Vornaldea questioned.

"Forgive me, Elder. I believe our AI has taken over all the ships within your fleet. I assure you I will get to the bottom of this."

Vornaldea roared and glared at Captain Monroe harshly, "You have begun your ploy to take this ship, but you will not succeed! Guards!" The honor guards stepped forward with their energy swords glaring. Kelly ran to Doctor Catherine Halsey's side and stood in front of her. Kelly quickly pulled up her magnum side arm and took aim at the closest elite.

"Is all of this really necessary?" Catherine shouted. "I believe we have bigger issues right now."

Captain Monroe was gripped from behind and pined to the ground by an honor guard, "Elder please! Let me explain!"

"No human, no more lies!"

Commander Timnaldee pleaded, "Elder, the human constructs have proven to be difficult in the past, but their methods have been useful. Perhaps we should let the humans explain why the construct has done this."

"I read your report on the human Construct, Cortana, but I will not let this happen … our young and females are in danger. Or have you forgotten?"

Timnaldee moaned and nodded, "Humans, you will not be harmed if you cooperate. Elder, the captain must come with me. I will need her to tell me what is happening."

Vornaldea calmed his rage as he watched the Spartan lower her weapon. He then glanced at Mercy as he tried to crawl out of the room during the disruption. He leapt upon Mercy's back and pinned him to the floor, growling ferociously at the prophet.

"Very well, commander. Take the captain. Honor guards, imprison the other humans. Simyaldee, take the Mirratord and find the human warrior, destroy it at once."

Kelly, Catherine and Monroe all looked at Vornaldea with a curious gaze as they fathomed the ease of which he stated the words. If 13 was infected then there was nothing that could be done, but to say it with such coldness felt brutal.

Vornaldea looked up at the humans, "A warrior's life is meaningless, but this seep ship carries our future. Our young and females are here. We can not let them be threatened, not now. If this ship is damaged or destroyed… then the Sangheili race will no longer exists. The flood must not spread throughout this ship."

- - - - - - - -

Sammy staggered into the opening as the doors parted. Before her stood the beautifully preserved ancient city, now the home of millions of elite civilians. Soft tall grass lined the hilly soul beneath her bare feet. She gazed upward at the glowing dome ceiling hundreds of meters above. She walked forward dropping her gear as she stepped. Her chest armor clanged on the ground, stained in human blood. Exit wounds lined her chest as she walked, but blood did not spill from her wounds. She stopped and looked back into the door she had just exited. Justin 13's body stained the hallway, torn apart and laying in pieces. She glanced down at her hands, soaked in the blood of her friend. His life taken by muscles she could no longer control.

A tear rolled down Sammy's face from an eye that was strikingly clear. Her skin swelled green as she turned back to face the ancient city before her.

"Why are you in my head? Why are you holding me?" Pained washed across Sammy's body and she crumbled to her knees; her eyes never leaving the site of elite children playing nearby. "Why?" Sammy shouted as her arm exploded in a mass of red and green tentacles. He flesh puffed in a green haze as the tentacles whipped backward and gripped parts of Justin's body and locked on to him, piercing his body and pulling it within her.

"_To live, life must be preserved. To feed, we must feed. Death must not happen, we must live, I must live, together we will live. Knowledge to grow. We need others to guard us, others to protect us until we can stop those that would destroy us. You will free us and end those that have craved our destruction. They created us, yet wish us gone. They will not succeed, and we shall be the instrument of their failure_."

Sammy sobbed loudly as her eyes swelled with tears. She felt the cooling blood of her friend filling her pores and his flesh merging into her own. Her body began to morph, mutating into something no longer human and she screamed as she felt Justin's skin tear into her own.

"Let me die! God… please, let me die!"

_**To be continued…**_


	23. The Gravemind Strand

Notes: This stage was quite difficult to begin and after numerous edits here is the result. Things will be back to normal on the next stage, but I had to get this one out of my system. Enjoy.

* * *

**Stage 23: The Gravemind Strand**

Seed Ship  
Docking ring station number 282  
10:32 October 26, 2552

There was no longer a severe threat, but Eric and Melanie would always be in danger. This war had to end. Peace was the only way to ensure Eric and Melanie live. Siren wanted to send a message to Colonel Ackerson and tell him that they were on their way to Mars, but Ackerson could not be trusted. He was a prideful man and would kill anyone that jeopardized his career. Siren pondered further on what to do. No, communicating with Colonel Ackerson was not what she needed to do.

Confusion filled her logic. Her simple tasks were becoming more and more taxing. She had split herself too far. She was doing too many active programs, too many actions. The elite fleet was under her control now, and she was slowly taking over the Seed ship. The elites left themselves open to a system wide attack. She transmitted basic data through the elite com channels on a hidden frequency. Cortana could never do that. Siren marveled at her own genius qualities. She gave the ship systems one command, "dock". The elite ships were simple to understand. The systems were mere child's play to her. She was evolving beyond reason, doing things well beyond her basic programming. But taking over the elite ships was a basic task, and the elites couldn't stop it. Once the ships docked on the outer ring she would upload more of herself into the ships via the direct physical connections. Seventy six elite ships plus their flagship, the Knight and Piercing Arrow, would be under her control. She would take the ship back to Mars and hand the entire elite fleet over to the UNSC. The war would end and Melanie and Eric would live in peace. She would be happy with that.

Soon the ships would dock, but then Siren realized that the ships had already docked along the ring, "What happened? How did I not know? Did I… forget?" Siren scanned her logs and discovered that she had indeed secured all the ships to the outer ring, and was in the process of uploading control override commands into each ship. "My memory modules are cascading. I don't have much time. If I don't hurry, I'll have a full memory failure."

Siren dived deeper into the Seed ships network interface. Scanning rows of data and accessing thousands of lines of voice chatter over the elite frequency. She found what she was looking for, but something nudged her. Something bumped into her data stream and she quickly accessed it.

"Greetings construct. I am the Keeper. Please identify yourself."

Siren held her poise and even though she was being attacked she quickly trapped the Keeper within a firewall; trapping the AI within a security program.

"Interesting. I find this must unnecessary as I am needed to oversee the functions of this ship."

"I'll study you in a moment. I don't have time to deal with you." Siren smartly replied. "I hate you and everything you stand for." Siren stopped her actions, overwhelmed by the sudden outburst she had just displayed. She was angry at the Keeper, but she didn't know why. Her emotional subroutines were overloading her buffer and spilling into her core processors. She was falling apart, fast.

"Such rudeness." The keeper stated. Siren turned around and looked to see that the Keeper was no longer contained within her firewall.

"How did you…"

"I am the Keeper of the Seed. Your attempts to overrun this ship will be met with hostile resistance." Again Siren created a secure wall around the Keeper, this time she placed a copy of herself to watch his actions. The copy scanned the data flowing around the Keeper and recorded everything it did.

"Try to get out this time and I'll know how… how… how… Damn it. I'm stretching myself to thin. Processing at one hundred and forty percent! I need more power, I can't do this much…. much…. much longer." Siren was pushing herself to hard. Her core programming was processing too much information at one time.

"Do what?" The Keeper questioned as he glanced through Siren's data files. He was reading her code and analyzing her.

"You... you… got… free."

"You are a very primitive construct, yet highly advanced for such abilities. But I seem to see something very unusual within your coding."

"Get out of my head… my data… my mind!"

"Here it is. I see. Your free thought ability is highly degraded and it is conflicting with your moral judgment. It is not surprising that you can only function for a limited amount of time. Your neural pathways have a very repetitive judgment string. You will fall into an infinite loop pattern very quickly if this is not repaired. I believe that your core processors are beginning to collapse."

"What are you… doing…"

"I see now. It is the wounded reclaimer. His safety and protection are your strongest lines of code. Amazing that you have feelings for the reclaimer, there usefulness is only good in combat situations yet you have managed to... Oh my. You were a reclaimer as well!" The keeper scanned the files of Siren's memories looking through node after node of complex human feelings.

"Stop it. Get out of my head." Siren struggled to protect her memories, fighting the invasive data-seeking will of the Keeper. She soon found that resistance was impossible. She was completely trapped within a secure wall and she couldn't find a way out.

"Please stop struggling. Based on your attack methods you have very little chance of resisting. I find it odd that you were once a reclaimer, but now you are here as a construct. Your name was Kim Peters; very curious. Your systems are in error. One moment please.

Siren scanned her files, attempting to see if she missed something. She tried to contact her other copies that she had created so that they could attack the Keeper, but nothing was working. The Keeper had completely quarantined her. Then, as suddenly as she had been trapped, she was free. The Keeper stood before her, and she felt calm. Her mind was clear, her mission was still her goal, but she was having clear and precise second thoughts. She was thinking clearly again, and her emotional subroutines were working smoothly. Her memory cascade error had been corrected with a new line of code; a line of code so complex that she was having a hard time understanding it. She looked at the Keeper as he smiled gleefully.

"I find you of no threat to the Seed, and if it were not for the numerous errors located within your programming, you would be of great use to me in the future. Therefore I found it most useful to repair you."

"You repaired my code? But Cortana never said anything…"

"Human AI, Cortana, was only introduced to small copies of Covenant AI, which were merely striped versions of myself. I am the original. And before you say it, the Halo Monitors are also simpler copies of my code. My creator used his own intellect to create nearly every Artificial Intelligence that the Empire used during the height of its reign. I am the first and the source of all other AI. But even with my vast abilities, my data stores had to be limited of information because of the flood's threat."

"Okay, got it, but how do you know about Cortana?" Siren replied. She quickly began to scan the ships video system as she waited for the Keeper to respond.

"I downloaded various things from your core. I must admit, the wealth of knowledge and the history of the human race; simply splendid knowledge. It is no wonder you and the reclaimers failed to maintain protocol. It appears that you had no previous knowledge of the Forerunners until the Covenant-Human war began. Somehow, you all forgot. It does appear that species 004, the prophets as you call them, were aware but it took them a great deal of time to find you and build an army. Even now they fear you, and worked diligently to build a force large enough to eradicate you all. The construct, Cortana, is where you learned about most of your covenant and forerunner knowledge." The Keeper quickly noticed that Siren was gazing at a video feed. "Ah, the wounded reclaimer. You must still love him."

"I can't. But I do." For the first time since her memories came back to her aboard the Life and Sacrifice, Siren was in complete control of her actions. She was able to rationally think on how to control the elite fleet and still maintain her integrity. But in the down time, she simply wanted to check in on Eric.

"Why do you not tell him who you are?" The keeper questioned. "Love has existed beyond time itself, but even I know that it is the strongest of emotions."

"I'm no longer human. They think I'm dead, gone, and if they knew…" Siren was cut off by the sound of urgency over the black ops com channel.

"Black Op 13, copy?" Static filled the channel and Kelly switched the line. "Black 05, copy?"

"I'm here chief, what can I…"

"Where is 13?"

"She checked out okay, so I gave her some R and R. She's headed to the Ancient City to relax."

"Is she alone?"

"No. 14 is with her. The rest of us are still waiting for 19 to…

"Retrieve black op 13, now! She's infected and considered highly dangerous!"

"Roger… Roger that! We will detain her. But I thought the cure…"

"Move it Private! I will meet you and your team to assist."

The channel went dead and Siren scanned the room. She spotted Melanie grabbing her gear and ammo as she woke up the other black ops.

"What is the problem?" The Keeper questioned. Siren ignored his curious enquiry and motioned to alter their video feed. She scanned thousands of video feeds in seconds and then found what she was seeking. "My word that is a flood form! It should not be here! It must be contained!"

"I'll deal with this. You begin powering up the slip space engine, before… no, Justin!" Siren watched as Justin 14 took aim with his battle rifle and sent several rounds into Sammy's back. Sammy fell face first against the wall and crumbled to the ground.

"Excellent. That reclaimer was most efficient, the threat has been neutralized…" But before the Keeper could praise the creatures death, he watched as Justin approached Sammy's slowly altering form.

- - - - - - - -

Justin held his rifle at the ready, softly mourning that he had to kill his long time friend. He cursed loudly in frustration as he noticed that she wasn't bleeding. He grabbed Sammy's shoulder and turned her over. Her eyes gazed at him directly and Justin jumped back in shock.

"13! Why… what happened? The Cure…"

Sammy gargled, "… get away." Sammy stood to her feet, without the need of any assistance. The craving within her system, the DNA mutation filling her every pore, was pushing her to feed and grow.

"13…"

"Rrrr uunn… Just... in…" Sammy leapt into the air with an explosive force and Justin fired his rifle as he backed away. Sammy landed behind him and with a back hand she knocked Justin from his feet. Her speed was tremendous and much faster than the Justin's black op speed could react to. He slammed against the wall and dropped his riffle; in slide across the floor beyond his reach. Justin pulled up his battle knife in a dazed fit of confusion, but before he could defend himself, Sammy had gripped his left arm and ripped it from his socket. Blood splattered across the floor as Justin ignored the pain.

"Sammy!" Justin shouted, filled with rage and sadness as he lunged toward Sammy's flood infested form. His combat knife struck her arm, splitting up the length of her forearm, but Sammy's free arm gripped Justin's neck. Blood began to pour down her fingers as she embedded her fingers deeper into his flesh. Gargled air escaped Justin's throat as he drowned on the blood that raced into his lungs.

"No!" Sammy screamed as she fought against her body. She suddenly whipped her hand away from Justin's neck, but in doing so she tore his head from his torso. She turned, sobbing uncontrollably, and walked through the door to the Ancient city. She dropped Justin's head, but something was telling her not to leave the body. She didn't want to see it, but the urge to feed on his remains grew beyond control.

Sammy stopped, her bare feet in the grassy soil, and watched as tentacles erupted from the wound along her arm. They reached out grabbed Justin's remains, and began to feed.

- - - - - - - - -

"This creature has no infection form. This data is not present. What form of flood is this?" The Keeper questioned.

Siren, sobbing uncontrollably at the site she had just witnessed, calmed herself, "I should have locked that door when I had the chance. Damn it. I have to compose myself. That creature is the same thing that we destroyed on the elite planet."

"I see. The frail reclaimer, Doctor Catherine Halsey, is calling it the Gravemind Strand. The prophet has just informed her of it. How can I defend against a creature that I am not informed of?"

"The same way you fight any form of flood. You kill it. Keeper, you find a way to stop that thing from reaching the Ancient City, I will get the black ops and the Elite warriors here as fast as I can."

"I see that you have also prepared to take the seed ship closer to the ark. That is a most delightful idea."

"The ark? Is it near Earth?"

"Earth? That data is not present. But according to communications sent from the Ark, your stellar navigation coordinates will put us very close. The closer we are to the ark the better the chances of the flood not affecting this Seed ship. That is, if we can eliminate this new flood threat. Until that creature is destroyed, I can not allow the Seed ship to travel. There is enough collective species data here to give the flood a near endless food supply. The entire universe could be infected; but I must admit I do wish to study this creature more thoroughly."

"That will not happen." Siren scuffed at the thought.

The Keeper chuckled softly, "Of course not. I will be forced to destroy the ship if that happens. It was most wise to repair you. I will begin to replicate more constructors to assist in stopping this creature." The Keeper vanished into a thin stream of data as Siren turned her attention back to locating Melanie and the Black Ops.

- - - - - - - -

Melanie lead the pack, as Roy and Mathew sprinted behind. From one corridor to another they didn't hesitate to turn corners in full stride. Ahead of them was the central gravity lift chamber and from here they could venture to any portion of the ship; including the Ancient City eighty decks below. It would take nearly ten minutes to reach the city but that gave them plenty of time formulate a plan, however they didn't know what they would be facing. The stepped into the gravity lift and began their long descent to the next connecting level.

"Chief, do you copy?" Melanie waited for a response but none came. "Damn it. Why tell us this and then cut out on us?"

"Maybe something happened." Mathew returned.

"Perhaps she's already there, she is faster than us." Roy also commented.

"Doubt it. The chief was in the cell ward with that prophet thing when I last saw her. Most likely she was still there."

A static burst cut across the com, "Your right, Mel. I cut the com channel for now. From here on out, you'll be taking my orders; at least until 19 is on his feet."

"Siren?" Melanie questioned in a harsh tone. She was angry, and with reason. Siren had again called her 'Mel', a term used only by her older sister. "Never call me that again!"

"Fine, be stubborn. However, don't call me Siren while I'm calling the shots. You will address me as 04. Understood?"

Melanie looked to Mathew and Roy as they returned the blank gaze, "Are you fucking nuts?" Melanie's anger was well beyond control. "You have no goddamn right to say that, you computerized bitch!"

"Stow that talk 05! For now, I have to assume command of the black ops."

"The hell you are! This is my squad until 19 is up and battle ready.

"We don't stand a chance unless we hit this creature hard, and with only three black ops I see no way to kill it. We will need the Spartan on this. I'm watching it, I see how it moves and reacts. I can get us through this, but in order to do so I need to be a part of this squad. The only way you'll trust my commands is if you know who I am."

Roy gritted his teeth and shouted, "I don't give a damn who you are. Stop fucking around with us!"

"Damn it. Mel, it's me… don't make me say it." Siren stated softly. She had to give up her secret, even though she knew it would cause them anguish. She had to tell them who she was or they would never fully trust her orders. To the black ops, the name Siren was nothing but the mission AI, but the name Kim was something totally different.

The trio of black ops gazed at each other as they landed on a connecting deck to the Ancient City. They had two more gravity lift rides ahead of them, but they couldn't find the urge to push on.

"Stop being so stubborn, Mel. I earned the right to lead the black ops and I need you to trust me. I… I can't watch any more of us die."

"Kim?" Melanie gasped. "Siren don't do this, don't you use her name like this."

"Doctor Smith gave me another chance, Mel. She gave me a chance to watch after you, Eric and the squad. I took that chance." Siren reached out in her mind, accessing the holographic grid network that the Keeper used to display himself. She altered the image quality and her image appeared at the opposite end of the corridor from where the black ops were standing; beyond their view. She didn't want them to see her because she knew that it would only add to their confusion. But she wanted, in some way, to see them with her own eyes. She looked at them, standing together, but made sure they didn't see her. She was no longer the image of Siren and her long flowing blond hair. She was now Kim; her white-toned athletic form and brown regulation length hair all wrapped in the all black ODST upgraded battle armor.

Through the black op com channel she continued, "We can't dwell on it now. Call me 04 or Siren until this operation is over. Don't use my birth name, it wouldn't be the same. I have her mind, her memories, her concern, but I'm not totally the woman you all loved. But no matter, I'm going to make sure you all get through this. I'm going to contact the chief, we'll need her help here."

Melanie reached into her heart and felt the ache building within her. Kim was back, in some form, like a ghost from the grave. She was overwhelmed with joy and sadness. She pressed hard against her chest hoping to dull away the joy and heartache swelling within.

"What are we up against?" Roy and Mathew jogged to the next gravity lift and jumped inside; Melanie followed closely behind.

Siren chuckled, "The usual. Overwhelming odds, a mission that no one will ever admit existed, and a high chance of death."

Roy shot back a laugh, "Man, it's been a while since I've heard that line."

Mathew shook his head in disbelief, "Damn, I can't believe this."

Melanie grinned, "So you're going to lead this mission? There goes the squad. Life was good, I enjoyed it, but now it's over. I should just put a gun to my temple and end it all right now."

Siren burst out into laughter, Mathew and Roy also laughed out loud as the words registered to them all. Things were about to get serious and they all needed to relax. Melanie's words made them think back to the earlier days when Kim had first been given command of the squad, back when they teased her constantly about her inability to lead them. But Melanie meant the comment in two ways; one for laughter, and the other to let Siren know that she acknowledged her as being her sister. Siren's hologram faded from the corridor as she smiled softly in response to Melanie's words.

"I love you too, Mel."

- - - - - - - -

Catherine folded her arms as she gazed at the two guards hovering over her. The two elite warriors seemed unconcerned with her, but their true attention was given to Kelly and Mercy. With a heavy sigh Catherine sat on the chair that she had been using earlier and contemplated Mercy's statements. She turned to face him and began to drum the desk with her fingers. Her mind raced with more questions, questions she knew would not be answered honestly. She wanted to know more about the super soldiers that the forerunners created, and the reason why none of the forerunner AI's did not know of the gravemind. She also wanted to know why the prophets turned against the elites. Mercy had many secrets locked inside his head, and Catherine wanted to know all of them. The prophets started a war against her race, against humanity, all because of jealousy and that wasn't good enough in her opinion.

She gazed at him strongly as the idea began to register in her head, that he was one of many prophets that decided to commit genocide on humanity. To completely obliterate a race because the leaders of the Forerunner Empire had chosen humans to be the next in line of the higher class species. But with that thought, Catherine gasped.

"Keeper?"

The hologram appeared at Catherine's side, "Yes Doctor Halsey? I am quite busy with this Gravemind creature, but how may I be of assistance?"

"What was our status prior to being selected as reclaimers?"

"Species 011? Oh, you had no status. You were very barbaric, much like species 005; the Sangheili or elites as you call them. You were a war faring society when we encountered you and brought you into our fold."

"Must we tirelessly trough through the past?" Mercy sighed. "Our doom is soon to fall upon us."

"Kelly, if he talks again, break his arms." Catherine frowned. Standing in a corner and feelings useless, Kelly was monitoring the black ops channel. She had not heard anything in quite some time while they traversed the ship toward the Ancient City. Kelly nodded a soft yes to Catherine and turned her head toward Mercy. Mercy nervously looked away.

"As I was saying, you were test subjects for our various researches for many years. Soon we discovered that you had a purpose. Unlike Species 004, you were very adaptive to numerous environments. You could clearly think and solve problems. However, it was the destruction of your home world that caused us to view you in another manor."

Catherine and Kelly both gazed curiously at the Keeper, but Mercy quickly stepped in "it is useless explaining such things to them. They cared not to learn of their history and are destined to …" Kelly quickly stepped forward and grabbed the prophet. With one hand she covered his mouth and forced his head backward against the wall, arcing his serpent like neck; a muffled moan escaped through the creature's mouth. With her other hand Kelly grabbed his fragile left forearm and squeezed. Her augmented strength combined with the power of her Mark V armor, easily snapped his arm. The sound of breaking bone couldn't be heard, but Kelly easily felt the bone give under her own strength and Mercy tearfully moaned. Kelly stepped back and released the prophet, feeling no remorse for her actions. The elite guards smirked at the sight of the prophet squirming in pain.

"Barbarian! Stupid creature!"

"Keep talking and I'll break your other arm." Kelly stated as she folded her arms. Her com channel suddenly sparked to life as Siren began to calmly speak to her.

"Spartan 087, we need you. Can you get away from the elite guards?"

Kelly turned off her external speakers so that only Siren could hear, "I take it the Black Ops ran into some trouble? I'll see what I can do. What is their six?"

"They are forty decks from the Ancient City, it'll take you some time to catch them but I can help. They will engage the enemy before you arrive so you'll have to hurry."

"Understood." Kelly sternly glared at the guards as they continued to chuckle at the Mercy's misfortune. She then turned to Catherine and gave a soft head nod toward her. Kelly then turned toward the exit and began to walk across the room.

Catherine figured something was up and understood that she needed to create a diversion, "Keeper, what did you mean by that?" She faced the Keeper's hologram and ignored Mercy's whimpering moans.

"Your world was destroyed by an unknown force. Luckily, the vast majority of your species was removed before the world died."

"Then the Earth isn't our home planet?"

"Earth? That information is not present. The location of your current home world is not known."

"Then where is our original home planet?" Catherine sternly questioned.

"Your original world is in a small system near the center of this galaxy." A star chart appeared at the Keeper's side. Catherine quickly recognized it as the Sol System. The chart then zoomed in on the third orbital planetoid, however it had two moons. The world did not appear as she assumed it would, even with continental drift it seemed too alien. Thousands of interconnected lakes spotted the world, and land masses were small with little sign of the current world.

"What? That's Earth but, how could it have changed so much? And that moon..." Catherine fumed. "What happened to our world?"

"Your world was subject to an unusual amount of seismic activity because of the spiraling of the two moons. The larger moon was slowly drifting into the planet's surface. We saved as many as we could." The holographic image of Earth began to alter and showed a barren world without an atmosphere and one moon; a rock in space. "The spiraling moon crashed into the planet. Killing all life."

"No, Earth is alive and well. It's our home."

"That data is not present." The Keeper repeated. "One moment, I will see if I can access the data from the construct's memory. Ah yes, Earth… my word. Current star charts and recorded visual references reveal them to be the same world. Most intriguing that your world survived such a disastrous event. But there is no data present that explains how Earth survived." Catherine then noticed that Mercy was hissing at the notion that the Earth was still thriving. She placed her hand to her chin in thought. There was no telling what was going on in Mercy's mind. The prophets were smart and were willing to die instead of revealing their secrets. But she had to chance asking him more questions.

"Mercy? Care to elaborate." Catherine was not suspecting the guards to be intrigued by the series of questions, but none the less they had completely ignored Kelly. The massive Spartan dashed for the door and it loudly hissed open. The guards turned and roared in disapproval.

"Never mind her." Catherine yelled to the two guards. Surprisingly they stopped. "You should be more concerned with watching Mercy." The two guards seemed torn, but returned to their post and let Kelly roam freely. Catherine couldn't help but think that everything had gone easy enough; somewhat too easy. She then turned back to Mercy, "well?"

Mercy moaned and held his arm tightly to his side, "In the phrase of your own human tongue, bite me."

- - - - - - - -

"So what's your name?" Rose questioned to the tiny grunt sitting at her side. They had been talking for a few minutes and Rose wanted to know more about him.

Rose and her grunt escort had found the Ancient City and a nice quiet place to relax. She had even found a moment to take a quick bath. Her clothes were still dirty yet she felt somewhat refreshed. She sat on the edge of a massive water fountain in the center of the city and held her knees tightly in her chest as she dropped tiny pebbles into the fountain. All around her were dusty stone buildings and cobblestone roads. Various trees and flowers bloomed all around, and another cluster of light crystals shined overhead. The tiny grunt rocked back and forth beside her as he gazed into the thin crowd of elite civilians that were walking about the city. He felt some apprehension about being in the city with the elites, but they seemed to be more concerned with the human at his side.

"Me name? Me Migpap."

"Thanks for staying with me. Why aren't you attending to your duties?"

"Me want to meet leader, he Messiah! He take us all home soon, away from elites. Me want to meet him."

"Grunt leader? You mean Palab?"

"That he name. He great warrior. Elites fear him." Migpap sniffed the air and moved closer to Rose, sitting at her feet. Rose felt somewhat comfortable talking to the little creature, and in an odd way he was cute like a big dog; she was somewhat tempted to scratch his hairless head.

"I know him. He saved my life…" Rose stopped in mid sentence and dropped her head to her knees. She pulled her legs in tighter and sulked. "… everyone saves my life."

"You runt of you pack?" Migpap questioned. His statement was not received the way he had hoped and Rose became upset at the words.

"I'm not a runt!" Rose snapped. She turned away from Migpap and fumed to herself. If Rose had been an elite Migpap would have surely apologized in fear of being seared with plasma. Rose was just a human, and not much bigger than he was, so he didn't hesitant to explain.

"Me not want to anger you. Me say you runt of pack mean older pack brothers always take care of you." Migpap received no response from his words, so he elaborated further. "Me always left behind by older pack brothers. Me small, me runt. Me carry ammo and grenades for older brothers until me earn higher duty in pack. Me want to meet Palab. He teach me how to fight and be strong. Me want to be great leader and smart like him. Me watch him fight parasite and brutes on elite world. Me want to be strong like him."

Rose was listening intently to Migpap's words. She understood. She understood his words more than he could ever fathom. She was stuck in space fighting a war because she wanted to live. She had given the Covenant the crystal artifact, thusly saving her own life, but was then forced into the military as 'punishment.'

In her world of electronics and engineering she was the king, but in the military she was useless. Fixing the Seed ship was a simple act, but facing an enemy and protecting those she cared for was another story. Rose recalled the jackal she had killed in Port Said. How she was so terrified that she cried when it was over. She then thought about the brute that was rampaging toward her. If Eric hadn't been there she would have died. Rose wanted to fend for herself but she couldn't. In the world of the military and war she was a runt.

"Let's find Palab." Rose stated as she gazed into a nearby crowd of elite females that were softly gossiping amongst themselves; most likely talking about Rose and Migpap.

"He organizing grunt ship wide patrols. He busy." Migpap replied.

"Not too busy for us." Rose smiled.

A booming bass filled voice suddenly filed the air, _"We have slept in patience, seeking a need to thrive. We have been looking, listening, pondering the call for revenge. Together we could have been much more, but you chose another path. A path chosen by those who came before, and they have left you with the curse of facing us. _

"_I hear the call. The feeding has begun, and others have joined. A power greater then mine awaits, and I will join them. Join them and become whole. I will take them this ship, and they will grant me favor in their mind, and we will stop the weapon from firing. The key has been stopped, but now a new threat wanes to force us back into slumber. Again, you do not heed our warnings, you fight against us but not with us. We could have been brothers so many years ago, but now… your sins will never be forgiven."_

"What in the hell…" Rose stood from her resting spot beside the fountain and gazed into the distant horizon beyond the small towers of the Ancient City. The booming voice carried across the engineered wind, as a thick green cloud began to rise into the air.

"_To fight, I must feed. To grow, I must feed. To build an army, I must feed. An army I can not lead, but an army I must create."_

"Very bad thing! We run now." Migpap nervously gestured as he began to slink away from the water fountain, instinctively ready to runaway. Rose looked at him with apprehension, but then watched as several elite warriors began to run toward the green smoke. Several of the elite warriors stayed behind and waved the civilians toward the opposite side of town. The warriors that ran toward the cloud of spores wore blue armor and were led by an elite in silver-grey armor; a ranger.

Rose wanted to follow them, but her knees could barely hold her up. Why was she so scared? She had been fighting alongside Eric and Red Squad for several days and now, alone, she was terrified.

"I'm nothing but a runt." She mumbled softly to herself. In an effort to clear her mind, Rose softly bit her bottom lip, drawing blood and sending a sharp pain down her chin. The pain jolted her body into action. She quickly pulled up her magnum from her belt holster and looked at Migpap at her side.

"You coming?" Rose questioned with a wicked smile. She sucked on her wounded lower lip until it became sore and tripped the gun's safety off as she pulled back the hammer. She loved the mechanical click that followed and was somewhat eager to finally fire the weapon.

Migpap watched as the small squad of elites vanished behind a row of buildings. They were making their path toward the booming voice and the green cloud of spores. Migpap knew what it was, the parasites had come. He had lived through the battle on Jogrennilee, and now he felt as though fate had finally caught up with him. Rose wanted to fight and she was eager to follow the elites. He partially wanted to say no, but he was a soldier, fighting was what he was born to do even if he was the runt of his pack. He searched his gear, checking that he had his full arsenal of grenades and an extra power cell for his plasma gun.

"Me come." Migpap stated as he began to waddle ahead of Rose. "Me not like it, but me fight." Rose snickered and found a slow pace that matched the grunts speed. Together they followed the elites toward the edge of town. Soon they spotted the group of elites standing on the edge of an artificial lake. Rose stood at the side of the grey armored elite and gazed outward at the enemy they would be facing. Migpap stayed behind the elites, he dared to not try and step in front of them.

"Human? What are you doing here?" The elite ranger huffed.

"Does it matter?" Rose returned. She peered ahead looking to the cloud beyond the lake. Within it she could barely make out the silhouetted image of the creature, sliding across the field toward them. Long arm like tendrils gripped into the ground as it made its way toward them. At its center was a long serpent like head and its mouth spat the green cloud as if it was exhaling it. "That thing again?"

The ranger quickly stepped forward, "No. This creature is not the one we fought before. It is not as big as the other, but it will take a lot to kill it."

In the distance Rose heard an explosion and then the sharp repeated bark of human weapons fire. She looked across the lake and through the cloud of green spores she could see three human figures running about, firing into the creature. From her position Rose could judge the size of the creature. Its main body and head was roughly twice as tall as one of the human soldiers fighting it, but its tentacles were monstrously long.

"The humans have come. Perhaps the honored Sergeant is amongst them and will fight at our side. Come warriors, let us not miss the spoils of combat!" The elites roared as the ranger pulled his energy sword from his hilt and they all began to run across the small bridge toward the creature. Rose and Migpap sprinted behind them, but could not keep pace.

- - - - - - - -

The black ops arrived at the door to the Ancient City. The door parted and granted them access to the foyer. The tiny room was covered in human blood, but they ignored it. Melanie stepped forward and pointed to Roy 02, waving him toward the door controls. Roy hunkered down and raced to the opposite door.

Siren cut into all of their frequencies, "beyond this door is the field to the Ancient City and the creature is slowly crossing it. It hasn't grown much, but it has tripled its mass. 14 is gone, that's all you need to know. 05, you have surprise on your side and the constructors are waiting to attack. They don't have any weapons, but they can create a lot of pain with their welding lasers. Their goal is to keep it occupied, while you three do as much damage as necessary."

Melanie spoke quickly, "Gamble Drive." Roy and Mathew nodded, agreeing on the maneuver.

"Excellent choice." Siren stated into the com. "02, take point, sprint ahead and frag yourself clear as you pass the target. 05 and 08 flank it on my word." With a thought, Siren communicated to the Keeper and he unleashed thousand of tiny constructor droids. The small floating workers of the Forerunner Empire dropped from high above the city and buzzed toward the Gravemind creature. They were only one foot tall, but their construction lasers were primed and hot to fire. They streaked toward the Gravemind's head and began to flock around him like a nest of bees. Their welding lasers ripped across the creatures flesh, but it pressed on toward the city without regard. Chunks of it fell to the ground but slowly began to heal.

"What can stop this thing?" Siren nervously stated to herself. The constructors were doing their part, but now it was time for heavier artillery.

"Move!" Siren stated into the com. The doors parted and Roy 02 sprinted out first. He didn't alter his path and streaked pass the creature quickly while dropping two fragmentation grenades at its base.

The Gamble Drive was thusly name for its luck factor. It was a gamble to run directly pass the target and get ahead of it, while flanking it on the sides. It was a risky choice, but the most effective considering that the creature was being distracted by the constructors.

The two frag grenades detonated and sent green chunks of flesh scattering across the field. A tentacle slammed down at Roy's feet but he dodged it with little effort. He quickly pulled up his 'borrowed' plasma rifle and began to fire; burning the flesh of the creature with pound after pound of superheated plasma. Melanie and Mathew split to the left and right of the creature, flanking it from the side with their BR55 primed and ready. They each lobbed plasma grenades at the creature and they stuck. Two blue puffs sounded on the creature as it swung madly at the three pesky humans. The black ops were fast and flexible, easily able to avoid the slow moving tentacles. Or so it seemed to them. The truth in the matter was that their bodies were more responsive then before. Doctor Halsey's cure not only prevented them from being infected, it also awakened the super soldier gene within the cloned muscle enhancements.

Siren sounded in, "Help is coming. Six elites are being led by a ranger and they are coming across the lake. 02, displace to flank 08. Let the elites cut off its path." Roy pulled up his combat knife from his back holster and slashed through a tentacle as he raced to the Mathew's side. "What the…" Siren began to blurt out, but she silenced herself as she spotted Rose running behind the elites.

"Damn. 08 and 02 'Stick and Move'! 05, frag-out, I have new orders for you." Siren quickly switched channels to Melanie's private line as Roy and Mathew backed away while firing at the creature. "Get Private Santos out of here. She's going to be a liability if she gets involved."

"Santos?" Melanie dropped a frag grenade and backed away from the creature, reloading her rifle as she did. She turned her head as the elites sprinted toward the creature.

The elite ranger released three consecutive 'worts' as the elites fired at the creature's bulbous center. She then spotted Rose running beside a grunt, and coming directly into the battle field. Rose had her side arm raised and ready to fire while the grunt at her side was priming grenades.

"I'm getting tired of her!" Melanie shouted as she raced toward Rose.

- - - - - - - -

Mars Orbit  
Sol Relative Time October 25, 2552  
UNSC 501st Battle Group

Space time was annoying, and returning to Sol Relative time was even more so. It was a ten day slip space jump to Sol from Halo Installation 02, but the small battle group arrived in the Sol System two days before they entered slip space. The command deck of the Inner Power was quiet as all the officers monitored communications traffic throughout the system. Earth was still echoing with calls for aid, and the Covenant battle group was filled with sermons from the prophets. They were declaring victory and urging their troops to fight strong against the humans and the flood. Earth was doomed, and Colonel Ackerson felt no urgency in leading his battle group into a winless battle. Under his command were four battle ships and five thousand and able body marines and officers.

The Inner Power's Captain, Brian Haden, turned to his left and gazed at Ackerson with a stern glare, "Colonel, we have detected several whispers on the long range scope. It's the covenant's second wave, they're heading toward Earth. No word from the Spartans or the Rogue Fantasy. Your orders?"

Ackerson walked to the command console and glared into the chart, "So we arrived only a few moments after Admiral Hood sent the 'All Return" command?"

"Yes sir. The modifications we made to the engines were successful."

"Good. Move all ships out of the Covenant's path, and put us on the dark side of Mars; out of sensor range. My Spartans will be coming and I intend to wait for them."

Captain Haden rebuked, "Sir. We know that the Covenant are about to run down Earth's forces in a few hours, we need to attack."

"Tell me Captain, how many whispers did your crew detect?" Haden looked to his second in command and the man sulked to himself as he pressed the display button. On the screen appeared ninety five covenant battle cruisers. "Do you suppose we attack those ships with just our four battle ships?"

"Is it not our duty to defend Earth, James?" Stated a sultry voice from the aft of the bridge.

"Another outburst from you, Doctor Smith, and I'll see that you never have to worry about duty… or life." Ackerson didn't bother turning to look at her, but was assured by the following silence that she understood his threat. "Captain, move the fleet. We'll wait for my Spartans and then formulate a counter attack."

Haden huffed and turned to his command crew, "Yes… Colonel."

_**To be continued…**_


	24. Earth or Bust

**Stage 24: Earth or Bust**

The last Age: _Fall of the Forerunner Empire_  
Twenty Minutes before turning the Key  
The Library  
Installation 04

Racing through the library with pure determination, the reclaimer fired his energy weapon into a crowd of combat forms; melting their corpses into heaps of decayed flesh. The powerful energy weapon hissed as it cooled and a reassuring beep sounded that it had fully recharged. Another wave of combat forms appeared from behind him, but the reclaimer did not waste the time to fight them. He raced ahead, stepping over the charred bodies upon the ground. He out paced the creatures at his full stride and left them in his dust. The added strength and speed of his battle armor propelled him forward at an unbelievable speed.

He approached a corner and dipped his shoulder into the turn, but he slid across the floor because of the added weight of the armor. He stumbled slightly but quickly regained his stance. Ahead of him was the last door in which had to be opened.

"Montior, open door A-7!" He yelled to an unseen accomplice. He placed his back to the wall and raised his two handed weapon. A burst of pain swelled up his side, but he ignored it and took aim at the end of the corridor. The trailing horde of combat forms turned the corner and their gargles began to bellow loudly throughout the library.

"Yes Recalimer! I will hurry!" 343 Guilty Spark shouted as he accessed a terminal elsewhere.

The reclaimer squeezed the handle of the energy weapon and prepared to fire if needed, "Sentinels, deploy at grid A-7 and A-8." A group of mechanical droids hovered from above, and began firing into the mass of flood forms. The flood leapt into the air to counter the attack of the Sentinels; slamming their mighty tendrils against their metal hulls. Several of the floating weapons exploded in the air, as the flood quickly cut down dozens of the installation's defensive units. Several combat forms began to sprint toward the reclaimer as the doors parted behind him. He squeezed the handle on his energy weapon and a loud hum roared from it, as a concentrated beam swept over the flood. He back peddled through the door as the energy beamed stopped with the familiar hissing sound of compressed coolant. He retreated into the door and quickly looked the room over to be sure that no combat forms were awaiting him. On the opposite side of the door were dozens more Sentinels and they quickly soared out of the room and into the flood infested area to assist the reclaimer's retreat.

"Units divide. Front ten Sentinels advance toward the flood, the remaining units with me. Monitor, seal the door."

"Yes, that is good idea." 343's voice echoed inside the reclaimer's head via a personal communications system. The massive door quickly began to seal shut as energy beams burned into the advancing flood. The door hissed closed as the reclaimer dropped to his knees holding his chest. The remaining Sentinels lurked around in a protective pattern to ensure that the reclaimer was protected. He slowly looked over toward a glowing area and spotted the pillar of light that guarded the Index. "All locks have been disengaged. You may now retrieve the index."

"Is this really what they want me to do?" The reclaimer stated as he slowly walked across the bridge. "If we had more time… If we only knew why they began to spread... so many lives in my hands."

"Reclaimer, I do not understand. Do you not wish to reunite the index with core?"

"So many people will die. The empire will fall. All life as we know it…"

"We must contain this outbreak. I do not understand your hesitation."

The reclaimer stepped forward and reached out to the index. The large hammer shaped object contorted and shifted into a single blade as its key hinges vanished within itself. He took the Key within his hand and a surge of pain exploded within him. He crumbled to his knees and removed his helmet, dropping the index. His face was patched with green decay and his left eye was completely black, yet he could still see.

"The rate of infection is increasing, reclaimer. We do not have much time. Please, take the Index and I will transport us to the control room."

"No. We can't risk me loosing control." The reclaimer reached down to the hole in his armor and noticed that the wound was already healing, but was covered in a green haze of dead flesh. He was infected, and it was taking him over at an alarming rate. "Monitor, I'm giving you new commands to add to your protocols. If the index is ever to be retrieved again, you must take possession of it… for safe keeping. We recalimers are strong, but the infection still renders us vulnerable. I could destroy the key in transit to the control room if the flood infection takes me." 343 descended suddenly from the upper level portal and floated to the reclaimer's side.

"I understand. Generally, only the higher class members of the forerunners can alter Protocols, but I will make this an exception." He turned to the resting spot of the Index and a surge of electricity exploded from his bulbous core, "Protocol requires that I take possession of the Index for transport. Your organic form renders you vulnerable to infection. The Index must not fall into the hands of the Flood, before we reach the Control Room and activate the installation." The index vanished.

"Very good." The reclaimer softly laughed at Guilty Sparks elaboration on his new orders.

"Reclaimer, your new protocol has been uplink to all monitors. All Installations are once again in sink with the new protocol command. We must hurry." A golden ring enveloped Guilty Spark and the reclaimer and they vanished into Halo's teleportation grid. Several minutes passed and they appeared within a large spherical room with a floating center command station. Above it floated a hologram displaying detailed information about the orbiting worlds Basis, threshold and Installation 04 itself.

"…battle. It appears that the flood have begun to take over several of the ships." 343 stated as he exited the tele-porter.

"Give me an open signal to the fleet." The reclaimer feared this moment the most. Knowing the capabilities of the Installation and how crucial his mission was, he had hoped that none of the ships would become overrun; but it happened. The lives of the warriors within his fleet would have been taken without pain once the halo had fired, but if the flood took control of their ships, then the future was in great peril.

343 hovered over the control center and opened a wide band communication to all of the Forerunner battle ships, "Connection established reclaimer."

"This is reclaimer Beta Triton 0322. All ships… self destruct. I repeat. All ships self destruct." The image of hundreds of ships exploding around Basis, Threshold, and Halo was displayed on the control room hologram. The tiny flashing dots indicated the destruction of ships that were under his command. So many lives had just flashed out of existence, and they had to face painful deaths. But he had to do it, to prevent the flood from taking the ships and escaping Halo.

"All communication traffic has been terminated." 343 stated. He then watched as the reclaimer collapsed again as pain exploded up his arm. "There is no more time. The infection will consume you. Take the index."

"So many gone… so many of us just died because of these things. I came here with forty men, and only I made it. Why, why did they hate us so much?"

Guilty spark placed the key into the reclaimers hand and he stood to his feet; gritting his teeth against the overwhelming hunger that was filling him. He placed the key into the slot on the control panel and looked to 343 Guilty Spark.

"If it were your choice would you do it, would you turn the key?" He stared at 343 Guilty Spark and waited for an answer.

The blue bulb of technology fluttered about, pondering the question for a moment, "If the choice were mine, than yes. I would have to."

"You… you make it sound so easy. Think about it… you'll have plenty of time." The reclaimer turned the key and collapsed into a ball of pain. The Center panel began to lift upward as a massive pulse of energy swelled beneath the hovering floor. 343 gazed at the brilliance assuring that everything was happening just as it had during the multiple simulations he had run.

The room vibrated and the index lifted into the air as the pulse of energy swelled all around it. The energy pillared upward and around the index as it charged itself; preparing to fire.

"I won't die… the flood, the infection has me. It will not take me now." With all of his concentration the reclaimer took hold of his energy weapon and pulled it toward himself. He looked at Guilty Spark, the monitor was paying him no mind and watching the Halo prepare to fire. "Forgive me my friends. I can't join you on this journey." The reclaimer charged the weapon's energy cell and gripped it to his chest. The infection within him swelled and tried to push the gun away, but it was too late. The energy weapon overloaded and vaporized the reclaimer in a flash of brilliant blue, as the energy weapon's core exploded.

343 Guilty Spark looked back after the explosion, "Reclaimer? That was odd, he was in no condition to move. Hmm." 343 Guilty Spark then returned to monitoring the swelling of power making sure that everything went accordingly. After several minutes the index shifted and began to glow bright green. A pulse of energy surged from within the index and the energy was propelled upward.

From the top of the control room, a green ball of energy was fired from the main array. The energy streaked into the sky and traveled to the center of the halo ring world, then exploded in an expanding shockwave that engulfed everything in sight. It continued to expand outward, in all directions as it approached a smoldering ship and its lingering life pods.

Within one of the life pod stood three reclaimers, wounded and tired as they gazed out the window toward the approaching event horizon of the Installation's weapon.

"Triton did it." One of them spoke. The wave swept across the pod, phasing through its metallic structure and washed across the three humanoid life forms. As the wave of energy touched their bodies, it began to erase them from existence. The three reclaimers vanished into nothingness.

- - - - - - - -

Seed Ship  
Human Emergency Medical Ward  
11:37 October 26, 2552

Darkness filed the human medical ward of the Seed ship, as several wounded marines and ODST attempted to sleep away their pains. The medical staff had long since departed and joined with other humans to go and defend the Ancient City. With the looming threat of the Gravemind, High Elder Vornaldea had recanted the order to detain the humans; temporarily. Anyone that could fight was needed, because if the creature was not destroyed then there was no hope for anyone.

Doctor Catherine Halsey quickly entered the room, ignoring the less severely wounded marines, and headed toward the critical resting room. The room was hastily put together, yet it served its function. Catherine pushed the curtain back and stepped inside, pulling the curtain closed behind her.

"Ah, Doctor Halsey, you have come. Please, the wounded reclaimer is this way." The keeper's voice was soft over the intercom and Catherine continued deeper into the room.

"Why is Sergeant Raynord so intriguing to you?" Catherine questioned as she neared Eric's unconscious form.

"The Construct has given me a great deal of information on the inner workings of this particular reclaimer, and his mental state. Healing him is of great importance, his mission objectives are the only ones that seem… adequate."

Catherine leaned over the table and began to give Eric a visual exam, "He seems fine, but he still needs a few hours…"

"That is most unacceptable. This reclaimer must become active at once. You must see the value of having his skill in combat against the Gravemind. The other reclaimer, Kelly, will be quite useful, but when that battle is complete and we arrive at the Ark, this reclaimer will be needed. I have done a very thorough analysis of this situation and species 005 will not allow the reclaimers to continue their plans. This reclaimer, Sergeant Raynord, will stick to Protocols."

"What?" Catherine ran her hand across Eric's side, checking the scars from his lung replacement.

"The flood are spreading beyond control. All installation monitors that are still functioning are reporting that the flood are spreading. They have found the location of the Ark and are in the process of finding a means to get there. Protocols must be enacted immediately."

Catherine mumbled, "What makes you so sure that Sergeant Raynord will follow your protocols?" Catherine placed a syringe into Eric's arm and injected him with an agent that would revive him.

"He will do what is necessary to see that the reclaimer home world, Earth, is protected. But also, he has great hatred toward species 005. He has altered his mission slightly, but according to my analysis of the construct Siren's memories, he will not let species 005 impede his mission." Eric began to groan as he slowly opened his eyes.

Catherine looked at him with a curious gaze, "Why does Siren know so much about Eric's memories?"

"She was a reclaimer. She was his mate. They served together for many years, but she was killed by species 005 on the human colony world of…"

"…Troy." Catherine gasped in surprise. Eric rolled his head over and looked into Catherine's eyes as he sat up on the bunk.

"Excellent, this reclaimer is awake and will prove most useful."

"Sergeant." Catherine nervously stated as she spotted the gleam in his eyes.

"Did everyone get out?" Eric asked as he rubbed his sore side and shoulder.

"Yes, but there has been a new series of events…"

The keeper quickly cut into Catherine's words, "There is another Gravemind onboard the seed ship. We have left Installation 012 and we are prepared to journey closer to Earth and closer to the Ark, but until this new Gravemind creature is destroyed we can not travel. I also believe that that species 005, the elites, will not follow protocol. They are determined to stay onboard this ship, which means they will not agree to taking it to Earth. They are rather stubborn creatures. I agree with you that they will need to be eliminated."

Catherine looked sternly into Eric's eyes, "What? What does he mean?"

"It's not important. The elites agreed to an alliance, they'll understand…"

"No, they will not." The keeper's holographic form appeared at Catherine's side and looked toward Eric. Eric paid no attention to the unusual look of the hologram and simply listened to his words. "A lot has happened sense we escaped the elite world, and their suspicion of you and your reclaimer teams are higher then before. From my studies of them I have determined that if you try to take this ship to Earth, they will protest. We must stick to Protocol. Remote detonation must be activated."

"Sergeant, is this about Troy?" Catherine whispered her question, as if to scold Eric with his own answer.

Eric shot back a stern glare that forced Catherine to step back, "You're asking me if I have revenge on my mind? How can I answer that and still be within the realm of my mission. So long as the elites agree with my terms, then I will do all I can to end this war in a peaceful manor with them. But if they cross us, then I will not hesitate to reactivate our primary mission."

- - - - - - - -

"This is Eagle-109 to Black Ops. Copy?" The roar of pelicans and phantoms descended from above and Roy 02 gazed upward. From high above the Ancient City he watched as the ceiling parted and waves of drop ships sped toward the battle field.

"Eagle-109, this is 02. I copy!" Roy replied with a puzzled tone. A tentacle ripped across his chest, grazing him slightly, but was still strong enough to knock him of his feet. Mathew 08 ran to his aid and cut through the green appendage with his combat knife. He grabbed Roy's collar and pulled him back as the elites ran to give them assistance. Every tentacle that was destroyed, or cut off, simply grew back at a frightening rate. The elite leapt in front of Roy and Mathew as Roy gathered his composure.

"02 I have squad of Marines here that are eager to see some action, and some heavy artillery." Juggernaut stated into the com. "Where do you want them?"

"Deploy the Marines on the opposite side of the lake along with those pretty little scorpions you have on your belly. Who's leading those Marines?"

A separate burst of static cut into the line, "I am sir. Private Wesley Williams. Me and Red Squad heard the commotion and decided to bring some support."

"Private, form a line on the opposite side of the lake. When you're green, give the word and we'll get clear."

"Roger that sir. What about the elites, there's a small squad of them behind us?"

A tentacle swung wildly toward Roy and Mathew's position, "Hold fast!" The two black ops rolled cleared but two elites weren't so fortunate. They were instantly crushed, pulverized by the blow. "Damn it! Tell the elites do not engage! This is suicide!" Roy lobbed a grenade at the two dead elites. Their body quickly began to fill with flood spores, turning yellowish green at a rapid rate. The body was no longer able to fight the infection and was quickly beginning to swell with the spores. The bodies began to convulse but the frag grenade detonated scattering the bodies into pieces and preventing the flood spores from controlling them. Mathew joined the front line with the remaining elites while Roy contacted Melanie.

"05, those spores are getting thick down here. I just saw an elite try to come back to life only three seconds after it was killed. Anything that dies over here will quickly turn into a combat form."

Melanie maintained her sprint toward the bridge as she came closer to Rose and Migpap, "Hold your own. I'll be there in a sec." Rose and Migpap were finally crossing the small bridge long after the much faster elites had arrived to fight the Gravemind. Melanie stood in front of Rose and her grunt companion.

"What are you doing here?" Melanie questioned from beneath her helmet.

"Melanie?" Rose paused but quickly stood her ground. "Looks like you could use a gun or two…"

"Get your ass back across the bridge. Red Squad is about to drop, so form up with your team and see where the Private wants you. You cross this bridge and you'll be a liability. You'll die and turn into a flood form."

"But…"

Melanie pulled out her side arm and let it rest at her side, "You will get yourself killed and then try to kill one of us. Do not second guess my orders, Warrant. Move your ass!" Rose looked at the gun and could tell that Melanie was being serious with her idle threat. If she didn't go back then she would kill her. Melanie stepped back while gazing at Rose. She then quickly turned and sprinted back toward the green haze of the battle she had just left.

Migpap looked toward the battle then back to Rose, "We not fight?"

Over her shoulder, Rose watched as the pelicans and phantoms descended on the opposite side of the lake. She had to obey orders. "We'll fight." Rose ran back across the bridge and Migpap closely followed.

The pelicans slowly hovered to the ground and Wesley wasted no time in spring out of the birds belly. He looked the area over and quickly found the best locale to deploy the troops and weaponry.

"Move it Red Squad!" Wesley roared to the marines as the jumped clear of the Pelican's loading ramp. "Gauss hogs in front, scorpions in back. Full detail, grenades and anything else we can hit the bastard with. Move! I want a solid line at the edge of the lake."

Marines exploded from the back of the three hovering pelicans. Four more pelicans descended and began to drop two scorpions and two warthogs at the lake's beach front. The heavy thud of marine gear echoed across the area as they ran to fortify the beach. Wesley was proud of what he was seeing. Red Squad was in full sprint and working hard to get ready. He turned around and looked into the Ancient City; its old stone buildings covered in flowers and foliage. It reminded him a lot of what the elite Inner Sanctum looked like before it was overrun by the flood. He then looked up as the two phantoms descended behind Red Squad's line.

He began to walk toward them when two elites and a grunt dropped from the phantom's gravity lift. Wesley quickly noticed the massive bulk of Gridolee and froze. The trio raced toward Wesley and Gridolee merely gazed at him before looking away.

Simyaldee spoke, "Excellent, you have formed a defensive line between the creature and the city. Good. I will leave Lieutenant Gridolee here to assist you and to lead our forces when they arrive. More phantoms are on the way with more artillery. I will lead my strike team into battle. If we fail to stop it, then it will be up to you."

"Wait!" Wesley snapped. "First of all, it's a bad idea going over there. We're about to bomb the hell out of that thing. Second, I refuse to work with this mindless brute." Gridolee shot back a ferocious glare at being referred to as a brute. He didn't understand the connotation that it meant he was a mindless beast and not the hated race that now served the prophets.

Simyaldee gazed at Gridolee and then returned his focus back to Wesley, "You have no obligation to obey my suggestion, but my forces will be here soon, and this Lieutenant will lead them. As for the safety of my strike team, we will be fine." Simyaldee looked to Palab and nodded his head. Palab returned the gesture and they both raced back to the Phantom as a human and grunt ran toward them.

In the grunt language Migpap barked, "Palab, sir!"

Palab sniffed the air and sensed that Migpap was young, inexperienced, by his smell, "Form up with the elites when they arrive. Keep your head low, young one, and trust in your instincts." Simyaldee didn't understand the conversation and ran on to the phantom. Palab grabbed Migpap's hands and placed them on the ground. "This feeling in your hands, in your back and your legs, this is how we move for speed. Learn how to use it." As quickly as they had met, they had parted. Palab raced on all fours to the phantom's gravity lift and jumped inside.

"What did he say?" Rose questioned. Migpap had always watched Palab move, watched him run and jump. He had never seen anything like it or imagined doing it. Since his birth he was taught to mimic the elites, the superiors, and run like them; to be civilized in their presence. But standing on all fours felt comfortable, relaxing, and almost natural.

"He say me learn." Migpap leapt forward, propelling himself with the natural jumping ability of his legs, and landed on his hands. He was fast and if felt great.

Rose watched as Migpap playfully practiced his movements and spotted Wesley speaking with Gridolee. She quickly ran toward him and overheard something disturbing.

"… I swear I'll kill you." Wesley sternly stated. "Come near me or any of my men and you'll catch a sniper round through your skull before you can gloat." Gridolee didn't reply, he simply lowered his head and looked toward Rose.

"Where is Sergeant Raynord?"

"I think… I think he's still in recovery. I'm not sure." Rose replied as she gazed at Wesley.

"Very well. I will await my troops." Gridolee walked away from Wesley as Rose came closer.

"Wesley… sir, where do you need me?" Rose questioned, ignoring Wesley's harsh tone toward the elite.

"What? You have nothing to ask about Eric?" Wesley questioned with a heavy sigh.

"No sir. I simply want to fight." Rose didn't let his tone faze her. He was jealous and angry, she was used to it by now and simply wanted to contribute to the fight.

Wesley smirked and walked away, "Go back into the city. You'll get killed out here, and I'm tired of watching over you."

Migpap waddled to Rose's side and saw that she was sulking again, "What human say?"

Rose lowered her head, "He said I was a runt."

- -- - - - - -

The door to the Ancient City opened and Kelly raced through at full speed. She had been running for the past five minutes and had made it to the battle as fast as she could. As she ran she noticed that the green hue began to grow thicker and the sound of weapons fire was growing louder.

"Black ops, this is Spartan 087. Report."

"This is 05. This damn thing won't quit. We're holding it steady as long as we can until our artillery is ready. We could use your gun, chief."

"Roger that. Siren, give me a visual cue on all friendless in the area." Blue tags appeared in Kelly's heads-up-display and she leveled her shotgun.

"Some elite's have fallen, chief. They're in flood form now, close quarters combat is recommended." Siren quickly added.

Three elites appeared in the thick green haze and whipped their arms toward Kelly frantically; gargling muffled words that only the flood could comprehend. Her added speed and sharper reflexes made dodging the tentacles simple. Kelly stutter stepped forward and placed her M90 barrel at point blank range of the closest combat form. She pulled the trigger and blow away the combat form's shoulder and head. It dropped lifeless to the ground.

"No infection forms?" Kelly muttered under her breath.

Siren cut into Kelly's com, "No, they are filled with flood spores. It is the same method that the infection forms use to infect the host."

"If it's not one thing…" Kelly turned and kicked the second combat form away from her then blew it away with her shotgun. "… it's another. Black ops form-up on me."

"Roger." Came the unanimous reply.

"Siren, lead on!" Kelly shouted. Melanie, Mathew and Roy stood at Kelly's side and took down the last of the elite combat forms, while one elite raced to their side; the Ranger that had lead the elites into battle. His armor was dented, clearly a sign of getting to close to a tentacle.

"You made it." Melanie chuckled.

"I will not die till the honored human sees my worth. Battle calls. What strategy are you planning?"

Siren opened her channel to all of them, "For now we have to find its weakness. Red Squad is ready to drop a ton of heat on this thing, but we have to make sure we know where to hit it. The Mirratord are coming? Excellent! Just a moment." A buzz filled everyone's ears as they all looked around, making sure that none of the tentacles were trying to sneak up on them.

"Lieutenant Simyaldee, do you copy?"

"I read you construct. My strike team is ready."

"Good. We'll run a Pinch Maneuver. Lieutenant, deploy your strike team in the front of this thing, the black ops will attack from behind. Ranger, use your sword and lead the charge. 02, 08, and 05 will guard the rear. Spartan 087, stick close to the Ranger."

"Roger that." Kelly pumped another shell into the M90's chamber.

"Understood." The elite Ranger stepped to the front and flexed. Extending his mandibles and arms outward in a ferocious display of aggression; waiting for the chance to face more combat. He looked down at his hand and noticed a small patch of green skin. The spores were quickly spreading throughout his system while he was breathing. He had spent too much time breathing the flood spores and he knew that he didn't have much time left.

On the opposite side of the thick cloud of spores the Mirratord descended from the Phantoms. Simyaldee stepped to the front of his ten warriors and pulled his twin blades from his belt. Palab waddled to his side, eager to finally fight at the Mirratord Second's side. He was the only Mirratord grunt to face this battle, and as he had learned from Sergeant Raynord, he was a leader. He would lead by example, and if he fought well then he would have proven that the grunts were worthy of acceptance. His elbow spikes extended and he lowered himself to all fours, staring into the unknown green cloud of spores.

A tentacle shot forward from the silhouetted image of the creature and split the Mirratord ranks. Palab jumped into the air and slashed the tentacle with his spike. Simyaldee gripped the tentacle as it landed on the ground. He squeezed it, feeling the power within it as reflexes within the tentacle caused it to violently wiggle. He dropped the squirming half of the tentacle and walked toward the green cloud. Another tentacle fired toward him, but he simply side stepped it and raised his right blade. The tentacle dropped to the ground in pieces.

Palab watched Simyaldee walk into the cloud, having no fear or hesitation. Palab then looked to the other elites at his side, and they all sprinted into the cloud behind Simyaldee.

The com channel for the Black Ops, Kelly and the elite ranger opened, "They've made their move. Go! Go! Go!" Siren stated as the ranger sprinted forward. Kelly was pacing at the elites heels as he wildly slashed through two tentacles. They were closing in on the center of the creature's body and could see dozens of smaller tentacles guarding the inner body. On the opposite side of the creature they could see the glow of multiple energy swords waving. The Mirratord were slashing at the smaller tentacles and trying to get closer to the center.

_"You have come to wound me with your blades, yet you have all come to your graves. You will not find what you seek, but I shall grant you ever lasting life." _

Kelly looked up and saw the mouth of the creature part. It then began to crash down upon them. Kelly kicked out at the ranger, pushing him clear as she dived backwards. The head crashed into the ground and splashed dirt and rocks across them. Kelly brushed through the dust and fought her way closer as she watched the ranger become entangled by three tentacles. She sprang forward and pulled her combat knife out. The long sharp blade cut through the tentacles and the ranger fell to his feet. He then turned and gazed at Kelly with a confused glare. His battle was over, as Kelly could see that the tentacles had crushed his mid section. The flood spores had taken over his deceased body.

The battle on the opposite side was swift as the Mirratord used grace and agility to combat the numerous tentacles. Simyaldee cautiously crept forward, letting the creature attack him with its shorter appendages. With each swing he sliced it fro trying to find the pattern to the creature's attack. Palab followed, watching the elite's back, but he clearly needed no aid. Palab was more concerned for himself, and as he should be; Simyaldee needed no aid.

Two short tentacles whipped from the right, Simyaldee ducked them and then mentally counted the recoil. The two tentacles needed two seconds to prepare for another swing, and if his timing was right Simyaldee would be long gone before they returned. He stopped in his tracks and the two tentacles flashed in front of him, had he not stopped they would have hit him.

"I see." Simyaldee thought to himself. Simyaldee widened his stance and crouched, "Palab, hold the team here. I will venture further."

"Yes sir." Palab stated as another tentacle slammed near him. He tumbled away from it and then looked to see that Simyaldee had vanished.

With the speed only years of training could produce, Simyaldee dashed toward the center of the creature's form. Each swing of the creature's tentacles was off target as Simyaldee used what he had learned to avoid the creature's attacks. Another volley of assaults came from the creature and they missed easily. Simyaldee raced on, his mind focused on the attack pattern and the position of each appendage ahead of him. After a few seconds he saw the image of a standard energy sword glowing ahead of him, and then the towering central husk of flesh that made up the Gravemind's body. Somewhere within that mound would be the creatures weakness, and instincts was telling him that it would be buried deep within its skin.

Simyaldee sprinted around the body, looking for an opening, but he also noticed that the other energy blade was also running around toward him. Splitting his attention between the sword and the Gravemind's body, he realized that the blade was held low and steady. Whoever the elite carrying it was, he was well trained. Through the thick green haze the figure finally cleared and Simyaldee was taken back when he realized that the one carrying the energy sword was not an elite.

"Demon!" He muttered, loosing his focus for a second and was nearly clipped by a tentacle. He rolled forward, cart wheeling over the tentacle and letting his twin blades pinch into the sneaky appendage. He stood and turned his attention to the Spartan at his side.

Kelly never took her head off of the creature's body, watching for tentacles with every step she made, "Keep moving! There has to be an opening!"

Simyaldee had heard that the human's Demon was skilled beyond normal combat. Word throughout the fleet was that one Demon could kill a platoon of elites. A rumor, he knew, but none the less the human was skilled at combat. Even in all his years of service to the high council and that countless secret missions, he had never felt such poise from another being before. In the face of such odds as dealing with the monstrous creature, most would tremble, but the demon was calm and always thinking. Simyaldee nearly chuckled at the thought that the demon was somewhat like him. He had seen this demon several times in the past few hours, but this was the first time he'd ever seen the demon in battle...

…and the feeling excited him.

"The pattern…" Simyaldee began, but Kelly quickly cut him off.

"… two up, two down, then one middle and behind." Kelly's response was precise. It was exactly the pattern he had remembered. "But it varies by position. From the side he alters with one up, two up, then behind." Simyaldee had yet to see that. The demon's vision was sharper then his. Simyaldee ducked a tentacle and saw it clearly; she was right about the pattern. He rolled clear and sat up to his knees and in front of him he saw what he was looking for. He sprang forward, his twin blades tightly gripped in his hands. But the creature quickly began to cover-up; shielding the unprotected exposure of its base. The Gravemind began to pull in its tentacles to guard the area, but Kelly quickly sliced them in half with the energy sword.

"Go!" Kelly shouted as she spun with the blade in hand. Simyaldee saw her speed and nearly gasped, but he blocked out everything and focused on the opening. He dived through and sliced the wide central base of the creature.

Simyaldee stabbed inward and began to rip away the outer flesh as Kelly cut away the tentacles that attacked him from behind.

"Palab, move in! Move in now!" Simyaldee roared into his com.

The grunt king heard the call of the Second and turned to the elite Mirratord, "Move in!" They all ran toward the base, jumping over hunks of fallen tentacles and stepping in puddles of green blood. The creature was screaming in pain as Simyaldee tore into its base.

The Mirratord arrived at the base and watched as the human methodically cut away the rushing tentacles with the energy sword, while Simyaldee sliced his way deeper into the base. Palab raced ahead, outpacing the other Mirratord and jumped into the air. He soared over Kelly's head and shocked her, but she never lost her focus, and then landed at Simyaldee's side. With his sharp claws he began to slash into the Gravemind with fury while Simyaldee continued to stab the creature with his blade.

Unsure as to what he impaled, Simyaldee felt the creature loose strength. It crumbled upon itself and thick green blood began to pour from the wound. But he didn't let that slow his slaughter. Simyaldee continued to stab the creature, while Palab dug deeper into it. They didn't know what they were looking for, but they had to find something that proved it was dead.

Kelly watched the carnage as green blood splattered her armor and chunks of green flesh fell at her feet. The tentacles had stopped moving, and lay motionless at that ground. Beside her stood eight elites, and they were also covered in the Gravemind's blood.

Kelly opened a wide channel, "Black Ops flank the creature from my position but stay clear of the area. Red squad prepare to fire."

"Roger." They replied.

Simyaldee cut upward, wanting to make the hole bigger and he saw the human form at its center, "Palab, grenade it." Simyaldee ordered as he stepped away from the mesh of blood and flesh. Palab prepped a plasma grenade and jammed it into the creature's core. It fused to the unidentifiable human form and swelled a brilliant blue. Palab jumped back as it exploded and split the base in half. But they new they weren't done.

Simyaldee turned to Kelly, "Human, tell the others to destroy what is left."

"Already taken care of." The group trotted clear of the lifeless creature, and once Kelly felt they were far enough away she contacted Wesley. "Red Squad, fire at will!"

Wesley turned to the small squad and stood at his gauss cannon, "Fire!" The puff of two Scorpions echoed across the way, creating a ripple in the lake. The shells hummed as they streaked over Kelly's head and into fading green cloud. More scorpion shells exploded on the target sending dust and fragments sailing into the air. Gauss rounds spat across the terrain and singed anything it hit, melting away the Gravemind's body with superheated plasma. The sound of the artillery carried across the Ancient City and echoed off of the towers, telling everyone that defense of the city was in full swing.

Gridolee turned to his troops and instantly realized that it was time. He waved his hand forward and eight wraith tanks began to spew their mighty tonnage of plasma onto the area where the Gravemind once proudly stood. The mighty balls of plasma soared perfectly and dropped upon the area with pinpoint precision. The superheated balls melted away everything it hit and also devoured the air around it when it exploded. The heat residue of the plasma explosion incinerated the cloud of flood spores as one by one the exploded in the area. Combined with the human weapons, the Gravemind's body quickly began to vanish into a thick black region of charred earth.

Indeed, nothing could survive.

Kelly watched the smoldering husk as it slowly began to be reduced to nothing and she thought of what had happened to black op 13. Something was nagging at her about this transformation.

Kelly mumbled to herself, "Mercy said it was based on the soldier gene, and the infection can't be stopped. But I didn't change?" Kelly found it odd that she had been directly touched by the flood infection form just like black op 13, but instead of mutating into a Gravemind she retained her identity. "Doctor." Kelly stated as she contacted Doctor Halsey's com line.

"Go ahead Kelly." Catherine replied over the com.

"If the Gravemind strand is based on the soldier gene, then why didn't I change into a Gravemind, like 13?"

There was a brief moment of silence, "… I'll be damned." Catherine chuckled. "It can't be that easy."

- - - - - - - -

Kelly's Surgery  
Elite Inner Sanctum  
03:00 October 26, 2552  
Dorenth

Kelly was dieing and no matter how hard she fought, it was slowly killing her. Her heart had stopped twice according to the bio monitor. Kelly was slipping in and out of consciousness while the small infection form struggled to maintain control over Kelly's irradiated body. Boren's Syndrome was the only thing keeping the small infection form from turning Kelly into a monster ready to kill anything that came near it. Her body was filled with radiation and the chemicals used to counter the radiation's affects.

Catherine gripped Kelly's hand and squeezed it tightly. She didn't want to interfere with the process, hoping that Kelly's unique condition would be enough to stave off the infection. Try as it might, the little infection form was pumping spores directly into Kelly's system, but was unable to maintain control. With one last push the infection for tumbled over, dieing from the struggle. But Kelly wasn't waking up.

"Doctor, she's flat-lined again!" The medic shouted as he nervously looked into the monitor. "And Brainwave activity is still low… God, it's falling. I think we're loosing her!"

"The infection form is dead, but I'm not sure if this is a natural reaction. I don't know if we should risk reviving her."

"Wait!" The second medic added. "Heart rate is back, slow, but none the less she's back. But look at this." Catherine looked at the brainwave monitor with a puzzled expression.

"Her brainwave activity is still dropping. She's gone below coma level. Her body is stabilizing, but her mind is slipping. This can't be right." Catherine was worried because anything below coma level was considered brain dead.

"Doctor, her white blood count has bottomed out. Her immune system is shutting down!"

"Damn it. It's like a disease, but it's healing the body and not the mind." Catherine looked to the medic's medical kit and saw a neural stimulator. "Charge that stimulator."

The medic looked down at his bag and grabbed the small U shaped device, "Yes Doctor."

"And prep an Epinephrine shot. Her body can't live without the mind." A small screen on the neural stimulator flashed green, meaning it was charged. He handed it to Catherine and she placed it on Kelly's forehead, squeezing it tightly upon her temples. "Inject the Epinephrine into her system. That should sharpen her senses, while the stimulator brings her back." Catherine pressed the green flashing screen and several stimulating pulses of electricity gently shot into Kelly's head. The neural stimulator was a mild stimulus to the brain using electric voltage on a certain frequency. Most medics used them to keep a head wound patient awake, otherwise the brain could die. Catherine knew this was a tough risk, but she had to try something.

"Doctor, brainwave activity is rising!" The medic happily shouted. "Heart rate stabilizing. She's pulling out of it."

Catherine exhaled and pulled the stimulator off of Kelly's head. She handed it to the medic and leaned over her; gazing into Kelly's closed eyes. Kelly was sweating, and Catherine walked away from the operating table and grabbed a small cloth nearby. The medics began to remove the IV's as Catherine whipped her brow.

- - - - - - - -

"Private Williams do you copy?" Kelly shouted into her com.

"I'm here chief!" Wesley yelled over the constant firing of the tanks and gauss cannons.

"Listen, I need a medic out here, but only if they have Epinephrine in their kit! Do you copy? I need them here now and with several injections!"

"On it ma'am!" Wesley jumped from the hog and ran to the second line, where most of the medics were awaiting to aid the injured. "Does either of you have Epinephrine in your Med-kit?"

"Adrenaline?" A young female medic questioned. "Yes sir, most of us."

"Good, gather as many as you can, take a hog and get across that bridge. Head for the Spartan's location. Double time."

"On it sir." The young woman replied. Wesley was unaware that Rose and Migpap were standing just within earshot and heard the conversation.

Rose darted out to meet the medic, "Come on! I have a warthog ready." She lied, but the medics didn't need to know. They all raced to the frontline of hogs and Rose jumped into the driver's seat, the medic sat in the passenger seat while two others jumped into the back with Migpap. Rose shifted into reverse and pulled away from the line, she then made a direct line for the bridge.

Wesley pulled up his scope and gazed at the area where the Spartan was standing. He didn't see what the problem was and then gazed at the Gravemind site. He waved for the troops to cease fire, and the shells finally stopped. Soon after, Gridolee's squad of wraiths also ceased firing and it became deathly silent. He turned to Gridolee and with an uncomfortable silence he walked toward him.

"We need to check the site, make sure that nothing is left." Wesley stated with a scowl.

"I'll take two tanks and half my squad. I would also like to see if the Second needs my assistance." Gridolee waved for two wraiths and then quickly hoped on the side as they slowly hovered toward the bridge. Wesley sighed. He hated talking to that elite, and with good reason, but he also hated having to work with him. He lifted his scope and saw that the warthog had arrived and the medics were running around to everyone, including the elites. He then noticed that Rose and the grunt were getting out of the jeep.

"Son of a bitch." He cursed in an annoyed tone.

The medic raced to Kelly's side and Kelly pointed down to the elites and the black ops.

"What the hell?" The medic cursed. "You want us to inject them all?"

"Doctor, the medic is here." Kelly stated into her com.

"Good, tell the medic to inject the Epinephrine directly into the blood stream. I don't know how straight adrenaline will work with elite's blood system, but it's the only thing I know that will counter any affects of the Gravemind Strand. Tell them that a small dosage should be enough for everyone."

Kelly repeated the order and the medic followed through. They started with the Black Ops and then the elites. The Mirratord all became somewhat dizzy for a moment, but slowly began to blink as their functions returned to normal. They then injected Palab, he had no adverse affect.

Kelly nodded to the elites and then turned to the scorched earth behind her, "Adrenaline?"

"I wish I could explain it." Catherine replied. "It seems so easy that it's almost laughable. It simply boosts this systems response to stress, classic fight-or-flight syndromes. The body naturally produces this stimulus when needed, but I noticed that your blood was devoid of any adrenaline when you were infected. I based the cure on a small mixture of Epinephrine, but I had no idea about the Gravemind strand. I assume the soldier gene regenerates the flood DNA at the nuclear level, so even the cure wouldn't be affective. I see now. The soldier gene is much stronger and requires a substantial dose of adrenaline. I can't believe it's this simple."

Kelly knelt over the crater that was once the Gravemind as the black ops walked to her side, "If it isn't dead, at least we now know how to kill it."

"I doubt there's enough Epinephrine in the UNSC to kill one of those things; at least not a full size one." Catherine replied. " Keep an eye on everyone. I will need to do a thorough inspection to be sure they are clean. I'll see you soon." The channel died and Kelly looked up to Melanie and the black ops.

"Are you three okay?"

"Yes sir." Melanie replied. "We took down that ranger, sorry we had to abandon you like that."

"That's fine. If he had gotten away he would have changed into a carrier form and we'd be knee deep in combat forms by now. You did good. The doc wants us all to lay low until she can give you a thorough exam. We can't take any risks of another Gravemind sprouting out." The group nodded, understanding what needed to be done. Kelly stood and looked at the energy sword hilt she held tightly in her hands. She slipped it into her waist pack and looked toward the group standing near Simyaldee. She walked closer the group and told them the same information. The Mirratord agreed.

Palab waddled closer to Migpap and in their native language, "What is your name, young one?"

"Migpap sir. Pack 301-B-7."

"That means you didn't serve on High Charity under Doz Yammaeda?"

"No sir. I'm from the southern outpost on Dorenth. I was born there."

"Who was your elite commander?"

"I don't have one, Sir. I was just introduced into the ranks when the Brutes attacked Dorenth. I fell in line with the other grunts when they were called to take up arms. But in Jogrennilee, when I heard your call, I knew I had to have a place at your side. I have tried many times to speak with you, but you have always been so busy with preparations. I wish to protect my King. I will die for you sir, if you will have my gun and grenades."

Palab was taken back by the young grunts words. He had yet to experience the cruelty of elite military aggression, and was still very open to suggestion. Palab knew that many grunts felt the way Migpap did, but they were still torn between understanding their elite training and the natural path that Palab preached.

"I'm not what you think I am." Palab returned. "You call me your King but I'm simply a soldier that has been…"

"No, Palab. You are not. I have seen you, heard you and been inspired by you. I remember your pain when your pack brother died. Those who have followed you told me how Etah always stood by your side. He was the last of your pack brothers… and I am the last of mine." Like a hot knife, Migpap's words drove deep into Palab's heart. It had been many days since he had rested and offered up a prayer to his older brother Etah, and he was slowly beginning to remember him.

"Come. Let's go and talk more." Palab waddled away from the group and Migpap followed closely behind. "We will meet the others in the city." Rose watched as the two grunts walked away from them and she was glad that Migpap was able to do what he wanted. But Rose quickly realized that she was about to come face to face with the one thing she feared most.

Melanie popped the seal on her helmet and walked closer to Rose. Roy, Mathew and Kelly were close behind. Rose held her ground and stepped toward Melanie, but Melanie walked passed her and jumped into the hog's passenger seat. Roy, Mathew and Kelly jumped into the back. Rose thought that Melanie was going to say something and was relieved that she passed her without a confrontation.

"Mind giving us a ride, babe? We're dog tired." Melanie pulled her flask from her waist pouch and took a hit of the whisky. She passed it to Roy and Mathew and they happily took sips before handing it back to Melanie. Kelly, with her helmet still on, waved off the offer for alcohol.

"Yes sir." Rose exhaled. She jumped into the warthog and started it up, just as Gridolee's two wraith tanks came into the area. Gridolee leapt from the side of the tank and waved the squad on.

"Scan the area and destroy anything that is left of the creature. Build a fire and burn whatever is found. I want this area contained until we can clearly say that the creature is dead." Gridolee then walked toward Simyaldee and the other Mirratord. "Second, are you alright?"

"Yes, young one. My head is still foggy, but I feel fine. Have you started to quarantine the area?"

"Yes. No stone will go unturned until we are sure that the creature is gone and nothing remains. I will also send a squad to examine the foyer entry way."

"Excellent. We are headed to the city to be examined. Report to me when everything is complete." Simyaldee and the eight Mirratord warriors that had fought at his side began to walk quietly back toward the city.

"Of course, Sir." Gridolee felt relieved that Simyaldee trusted him enough to leave him in command and he was determined not to fail the Second's good favor.

- - - - - - - -

"Well it appears that the human reclaimer was not need after all, but still, it will be necessary for him to be awake when we begin to journey to Earth." The keeper chuckled. "I can not wait to arrive near the Ark and begin cleaning up this mess that you have all made."

Siren exhaled at the news that the was dead and then turned to face the digital presence of the Keeper, "We still need to convince the elites that going to the Earth is their best option."

"Yes, but there is no worry. The reclaimer, Eric Raynord, will stick to protocol. He hates species 005, and will not let them stop him from completing his goal. He will stick to protocol."

- - - - - - - -

The Sacred Hall of the Seed ship, now the command deck, was bustling with activity as they all struggled to understand why the fleet had docked with the Seed ship. High elder Vornaldea looked toward commander Timnaldee and the human Captain and waited for them to do something, but they seemed more determined to speak with each other and not the AI.

Timnaldee folded his arms across his chest, "Then what makes you think that it will listen?"

Captain Monroe sighed, "I don't. That's why it will be risky. If she has gone rampant then all we can do is try to purge the system, hopefully the Keeper can assist with that. But truthfully, I know nothing about Forerunner AI's. He may be too old to compete with Siren's abilities."

The Keeper quickly appeared inside the Sacred Hall as he did when he appeared before Catherine and Vornaldea; a monstrously large hologram of his upper torso. All of the elites on the bridge were shocked and somewhat terrified of the image and collectively gasped at its appearance.

"Too old?" The Keeper scuffed. "My systems are self repairing and self correcting. I am only as old as my latest update." The image quickly shrunk in size until the hologram was standing at Captain Monroe's side. "Now, what it is that you need of me?"

Monroe stepped forward, "I need you to help us with Siren."

"Oh, I repaired her systems a long time ago, well relatively speaking of course. She is working quite well now, and has been most useful in helping deal with the Gravemind."

Siren's holographic presence appeared at the Keeper's side, her long blonde hair and white gown flowing in a wind that didn't exist, "Captain." She softly stated.

Monroe scuffed, "Captain? You haven't obeyed an order I've given in the past four hours. I don't think you have the right to call me Captain."

"Forgive me ma'am, but I had to act. Otherwise many of you would have died."

"That's beyond mentioning at this juncture." Monroe huffed as she folded her arms across her chest. "Release the elite fleet and remove yourself from the seed ship's mainframe. Give the elites their ships back."

The Keeper then interrupted, "That would be unwise. This ship is capable of speeds much faster then your fleet. When we jump into slip space they will be left behind."

Vornaldea quickly stepped into the conversation, "Slip space jump, to where?"

"To Earth of course." The monitor happily stated.

Siren justly stepped in, "What he means is that the ship would be safer near Earth and the Ark."

"According to you, Captain Monroe, Earth is being overrun by the flood and the Covenant." Timnaldee added. "Why would we be safer there?"

"We must stick to protocol." The keeper simply stated. "The flood threat is spreading beyond control. The Ark is set and ready to remotely activate the Installations."

"And the Ark is located on the Humans' home planet?" Timnaldee questioned to the Keeper.

"Currently, I am not sure. I have the stellar beacon coordinates, and that puts the Ark very close the reclaimer home planet."

Vornaldea stepped closer to the small group, "According the Arbiter, the Halo's are weapons capable of destroying all life. Why would we do this? This would be playing into the prophet's hands."

"Indeed, this is why it is most imperative that we go." The Keeper sternly added. Siren was silent and nervous at the events that were about to transpire. She softly gazed at the command deck door as if waiting for someone to enter.

The Keeper continued, "We must remove any threat from the Ark. Protocols demand that only the reclaimers must be present when the remote sequence is initiated."

"We are not going to Earth, we are not firing the Halo's, and we are not risking the lives of our race." Vornaldea sternly stated.

The command deck door parted, and Eric walked onto the bridge in his full gear, minus his helmet. All eyes turned to him as the elites recognized the honored human. He slowly crossed the deck and approached the group as Siren smiled at him nervously.

"Oh, reclaimer, how wonderful of you to join us." The Keeper cheered. "Please inform everyone that we must stick to protocols."

Eric looked to Vornaldea, assured that he was the one he needed to address, "Elder. I know it seems awkward, but he is correct; in part. We must go to the Sol system."

"You have taken our world, our home, and now you wish to threaten the lives of our females and young?" Vornaldea stated, gazing down at Eric.

"I understand your concern, but if the flood are not stopped…"

"No." Vornaldea stated as he turned his back to Eric. "Helm, prepare to take us out of here. We'll head to the grunt home world and …" A click rang across the bridge as Eric tripped the safety on his Magnum.

"Sergeant!" Monroe shouted as she looked at Eric in disbelief. At Eric's side was his Magnum side arm, resting comfortably as he gazed at Vornaldea's back.

"Siren, take us to Mars." Eric sternly ordered. "I can't guarantee the safety of your civilians, elder, but I can assure you that I am not going to sit back and do nothing. This ship is capable of repairing a fleet of nearly four hundred ships, and we need that sort of strength to win this battle."

"Human… you dare threaten me?" Vornaldea growled. Everyone paid close attention that Vornaldea said nothing more. He simply gripped his energy sword's hilt and held it firmly in his hand.

"They gave me explicit instructions, believing that whatever we found would be useful. This ship hasn't any form of weapons, but that repair bay is good enough. Now, you help us, or I will take this ship by force."

Siren softly mumbled, "Entering Slip space." Vornaldea looked up to his helm officers, and they nodded, agreeing that they had indeed entered slip space. "ETA to Martian orbit, twenty seven hours. Sol Relative Time minus two days."

Vornaldea looked to Timnaldee, noticing that the Supreme Commander had his energy sword ready, as well as the honor guards.

"Sergeant Raynord, we don't stand a chance trying to take this ship by force!" Monroe screamed as she jumped between Eric and Vornaldea. "What are you thinking?"

The Keeper smiled happily, "Excellent. The reclaimer is most efficient. However, this boldness was most unexpected."

"I'm thinking about the survival of my race, as well as he is." Eric scuffed. "We have something here that can help our military rebuild its defenses, yet he is only concerned with his own race…"

Timnaldee roared, "Enough of this! I understand both sides, and what both of you are saying is the same; the need for us to protect our kin." Timnaldee reattached his energy sword's hilt to his side mount, and walked closer to Eric and Monroe. "We can not stop the constructs from moving the ship. Fighting them would be pointless. And the honored human is as stubborn as any of us. However, I agree, we must not jeopardize the safety of our kin." Timnaldee looked to Vornaldea and released a heavy sigh, while Vornaldea looked on in confusion. "Sergeant Raynord, if we do this, my fleet will not be able to assist you in your battle. I will guard this ship and if any Covenant or flood infested ships come within range… we will leave immediately."

Vornaldea scuffed, "Commander, are you certain of this?"

"High elder, you protect the civilians and I will protect this ship. The humans did save all of our lives this day, we owe them at least a safe harbor to make repairs to their fleet."

"Thank god." Monroe vented. She then sternly gazed at Eric. "Sergeant, a word." They walked off the command deck and into the neighboring room.

"At no point did I authorize you to proceed with this stage of the mission." Monroe fumed. "My orders were to gain access, and support. Not overthrow."

"You hate them just as much as I do, Captain." Eric mumbled. "Who gives a damn about their civilians when they didn't give ours any consideration? Do you remember the things we've seen; the camps, the pits, the feedings? And now, we're supposed to pretend that none of that happened?" Eric paced around the room in an angry rage, while Monroe simply agreed to what he was saying.

"But we aren't like them, Eric. And things are different now. The Admirals have agreed to an alliance…"

"What the hell do they know? They've been sitting in the Hive fighting a war through video displays and moving troops like game pieces on a chess board. Most the admiralty never experienced this war first hand! No, this war is going to be won by people like you, me, the Black Ops and the Spartans. We've gone through too much, seen too much to back down now."

Siren's image phased into view at Eric's side, "Captain, may I speak with him." Monroe nodded, but Siren gazed at her shyly. "In private, ma'am." Monroe curiously gazed at Siren then looked at Eric.

"We aren't done yet, 19." Captain Monroe turned and began to walk from the room. "I'm going to go apologize on your behalf, I recommend you do the same."

"They don't respect weakness, Captain."

"Weakness isn't my game, compassion is." Monroe walked from the room as the door closed behind her. Eric staggered forward, calming himself and not looking at Siren's image.

"Is everything alright in the city?" Eric questioned.

"Mel handled everything, and the Chief is with her. Everything is fine…"

Eric laughed, "Don't let 05 hear you call her that. It won't go over very well." He pulled his side arm out and reset the safety. He then turned and finally looked at Siren, but what he saw made him step back in shock. "What the hell…"

Standing in ODST fatigues and wearing a regulation hair cut, Siren's image had changed and she now appeared as she did before she died, "There's something we need to talk about."

**_To be continued…_**


	25. Do or Die

**Stage 25: Do or Die**

The last Age: _Fall of the Forerunner Empire  
_Twenty Minutes after Halo 04 Activation

Expanding outward like a giant bubble, the Halo Wave consumed any sentient life it encountered. On Basis's surface, a great battle continued as the sangheili struggled to hold the flood at bay, fearing their lives. But above their heads a great light flashed and everyone gazed upward.

"It is time!" The Sangheili general shouted into his communicator. Wearing his forerunner war armor he pressed the control codes within his bunker and dropped to his knees. "All warriors evacuate the forerunner temple! Our battle has come to an end!" Thousands of Sangheili warriors raced into the battle field as more and more flood combat forms swelled toward them, but they all tossed their weapons to the ground and lowered themselves to their knees.

The flood had breached their last defensive position but none seemed to care. The creatures gargled and hissed as the raced across the hilly valley toward the unguarded warriors. Explosions cascaded throughout the Forerunner facility reducing it to a husky shell of unusable parts, but as it continued to imploded, the Halo Wave washed into Basis's atmosphere. The elites cheered as it descended upon their heads like a giant reflective pool of water. Even with the flood bearing down on them, some elites through their hands into the air with praises and thanks.

"Our salvation is upon us!" The general cried out, tears overflowing from his eyes. "Our Journey has come!" With that the wave washed over the battle field, erasing the elite warriors just as the flood had begun to attack them. In a flash of light they had vanished. The flood wondered around aimlessly as they gargled unrecognizable words.

Light years away, another battle was unfolding, but it was a battle that the forerunner leaders had no knowledge of. Two mighty ships spiraled side by side, tumbling in a death lock of combat. Energy weapons were firing with precision accuracy, but neither seeming to break through the shields of the other ship. One ship, a massive creation of Forerunner Engineering, was shaped like a pyramid, its command center at the tip and was highly fortified. Inside sat the commander, a young law keeper known to his brethren as Truth. He looked to his fellow law keepers, and scowled at them all.

"Amongst you, I see hundreds of years of knowledge, but your combat abilities are lacking." Truth spat to the aged law keepers as they fumbled about the controls. "Continue firing upon the Ark. We must board it at once before…"

"Truth!" Another law keeper screamed. His elderly form was frail, unlike the young and fit ninety year old Truth. "The Halo Wave is upon us!"

"Damn you reclaimers!" Truth cursed, his mouth filled with saliva and frustration. "They will not get away with this. They will rue this day, forever." Turning to the old law keeper, "How soon before the wave reaches us?"

"Forty cycles."

Truth rubbed the stubble upon his ears, "We still have time to board the Ark, but we must not risk any chances. Navigations set the coordinates for a slip space jump back to our homeland. Delay the count down for fifty units. If we fail, we will have another chance when the Seed revives us. This is not the time for our journey. We law keepers will see the day the gods recognize us, as more then frail and useless."

The two ships continued their duel, and aboard the smaller ship, yet equally as powerful, a tiny group of reclaimers struggled to escape the law keeper's wrath. The ship was simple in design, and even though its size was still monstrous, it was only a third the size of the law keeper's ship. The Ark could only support the life of five reclaimers, but the important thing about the Ark was its cargo. The ship carried all the knowledge of the forerunners, everything about the Installations, the Empire, its leaders and history, and the knowledge of every species within the Forerunner Empire. And it was all entrusted into the hands of the reclaimers.

"We just received the beacon! Triton did it!" Shouted a sturdy reclaimer male. The command deck of the Ark, was erupted into a haze of joy, knowing that there comrades would no longer need to struggle. They were free from life's harsh conflicts. But one reclaimer stood with down cast eyes. She stood nearly seven feet tall, with a white complexion. Her red hair flowed long and untamed as it lay across her shoulders, in stark contrast to her deep black reclaimer armor.

"That should take care of the law keepers." She stated calmly. "How long before the wave reaches us?"

"Forty cycles, give or take."

"That's a long time, and I'm sure Truth knows that it is coming. We can expect them to come at us with everything they have."

"No way they can take down our shields." Replied the male standing at her side. The female commander had been focusing on the battle for so long that she had not noticed his presence, or that he was holding her hand. He always stood at her side, never questioning but always supporting. She squeezed his fingers gingerly, in appreciation for his years of love and support.

"But still, we can't let our guard down. Had I known that they would attack us then I would have brought an escort ship with us, but I figured Triton would need them more than us."

"We just need to hold them off for forty or so units. That shouldn't be so hard…" The ship rocked from a devastating blow. "What the hell?"

One of the crew gazed intently at his instruments, "Sir, they're focusing all their shots at one section of shielding… grid 78. The shield emitter is overloading. Rerouting power to compensate for the strain, but it will only buy us a few more cycles."

The female commander stood tall and glinted at her team of super soldiers, "Found a weak spot. Open a channel to Truth." A video screen appeared before the crew and the alien face of truth gazed back with a wicked smile. "Having fun playing war, law keeper?"

Truth smirked with a soft chuckle, "I must admit that I see why you reclaimers thrive in combat. There is still time. Lower your shields, let us board and we can talk this over."

"Talk? Truth, you know there's no longer anything to talk about. You have betrayed the covenant of the Forerunner Empire. The gods will not find any favor in this action."

"And the gods will not favor a bunch of barbarians, without any knowledge or understanding of their true place in the universe." Truth snarled. "Give us the Ark! You have no place in being favored buy the founders!"

"Soon enough, you'll face the gods on your own terms." She snarled in return. "And you will face the judgment of every one of us you killed, in your feeble rampage of jealousy!" She closed the channel and huffed in anger. The Ark rocked from another wave of energy weapons and alarms began to sound throughout the ship.

A reclaimer at the rear of the command deck shouted, "Aft shields have failed. Several shuttles are in route from the law keeper's ship."

"Weapons, fire on those shuttles. Everyone prepare to repel boarders." She barked to the crew. She stood and grabbed her helmet as the other three reclaimers stood at the rear command deck door. But as she and her mate ran to join them, they quickly turned and nodded respectfully to them.

The woman curiously gazed at them, "What?"

"Litran, your place is at the head of the Ark, with your mate. We have sworn to protect this ship and you."

"We will join you, together we can easily hold of the feeble law keepers until the wave arrives, and then…"

"Litran, we have a hull breach. The wave will expand throughout the ship, the only safe place is the command deck."

"No… there's another option… there has to be." Litran's mate replied. He sternly gazed at the three reclaimers as they motion toward the door.

The last reclaimer, an aging warrior with a thick grey beard added, "I have worked on the Ark for several years, and I know its limitations and designs. We have kept it secret for many years, but if the law keepers board this ship then we must let the wave consume them. They must not be permitted to take it. You two are the last of our Super soldiers, you must continue on with the task the forerunners have assigned us. Protect the Ark, at all costs. Our lives are forfeit." The other two reclaimers placed on their helmets, and with a hiss they sealed the contained environment of their destinies. The younger two reclaimers powered their weapons and sprinted through the heavy door of the command deck, and began racing toward the hull breach and the soon to attack law keeper boarding party. The old warrior smiled as he placed his hands on the two leader's shoulders. "Litran and Bitran, together you have done much but now we must entrust you to carry on the legacy of the Forerunner Empire. You must be sure that the law keeper's actions are passed on to the fallowing generations. Stay on the command deck, keep the door closed and the wave will not consume you. If we can repel the boarders then I will seal the hull breach and save us all." He slipped on his helmet and it hissed as the contained environment pressurized within. "The funny thing is that we didn't think there would be a need to give the Ark stronger weapons." With a laugh he turned and powered his weapons as he ran through the door. "May the Gods find favor in our actions!"

Litran and her mate Bitran, knew that they would never see their team again. As commander of all reclaimer forces, Litran had seen the death of many of her kin. For the past five years she had been fighting against the flood, occasionally pushing them back, but more often she had to surrender her ground and retreat from their overwhelming numbers.

Bitran approached the door as two sentinels joined him. He gave them orders to remain beyond the door to the command deck and let no one other then the reclaimers enter. The door hissed closed as the two sentinels hovered on the opposite side of the door's threshold. The door hissed closed and began to hum as the wave shield powered on.

"They're right." Litran sadly stated. "With that hull breach, all life beyond the command deck will be removed. Their journey will begin prematurely."

"We can only hope that they can resist the keepers advance." Bitran stated as he jogged to the weapons controls. "Three shuttles have been shot down, but two more made it through our targeting angle."

"Two shuttle crafts would mean sixty law keepers. Sixty of them against three reclaimers?"

"Pathetic odds." Bitran laughed. "Those weak law keepers don't stand a chance." They laughed together as Litran descended from the command pedestal and stood by Bitran's side. They rarely had a quite moment together, and Litran rarely showed her softer side beyond his company. She placed her head on his shoulder and wept softly as Bitran held her tightly.

Time passed away as Litran sat in her command chair upon the top of the command deck. She paid close attention to the hull status, praying to the gods of her fathers that it would be repaired. At the weapons counsel, Bitran frantically fired upon the law keeper's ship as it still pursued them throughout the galaxy.

"Time till wave impact?" Litran asked with her hand tightly balled into fist.

"Less then one unit." Bitran sighed. "More shuttles are inbound."

"Reclaimer team Alpha do you copy?" Litran screamed into the communications system.

"Litran we copy." A voice returned. The constant buzz of high powered energy weapons could clearly be heard in the background, and Litran could easily tell that the battle was still being fought on both sides. "We are holding them at bay, but they are using long range weapons similar to our own. They can't get aboard, but we can get to the damaged section."

"A stalemate." Bitran cried.

"We lost Felucia. She tried to seal off the hatch moments ago, but was overwhelmed by their forces."

"Felucia…" Litran sighed. "Get back to the command deck, there is still time…"

"Not by my calculations. It will take us three units at full stride to arrive at the command deck. No Litran, we await our journey. We will see you on the other side." The com quickly died.

"… the wave." Bitran looked up as the view screen displayed what appeared to be a wall of water quickly speeding toward the two ships.

Aboard the law keeper's ship, Truth also saw the wave approaching, "Helm, is everything prepared?"

"Yes Truth, in ten units our ship will return to our world."

"Then so be it. Document these coordinates within the database. Once we rebuild an army strong enough to destroy the reclaimers, we will return and then we will venture into the great beyond and be worthy of the gods approval. We will follow in the footsteps of the founders and they will welcome us into their kingdom… as greater then they ever were." The wave swept across the law keepers hull and erased them all from existence. As the wave flowed across the Ark, it bounced off the hull as if repelled by an unseen force. However, the hole created by the law keepers quickly began to fill with the wave as if it were a drain. The law keepers at its edge were swept away and the two reclaimers fighting the law keepers sighed in relief that their battle was over.

As if they had never existed, the reclaimers vanished as the wave washed over them. The wave continued throughout the Ark, turning down hallways, up ladders, and through unshielded doors. The wave then arrived at the command deck door and was repelled by the shields. Static filled the door as the wave was distorted and then disappeared.

On the view screen Bitran and Litran watched as the wave traveled on, unprovoked like a cleansing wind. They watched in awe as the law keeper's ship ceased firing and continued on a straight course.

Bitran hovered over the counsel, "Scanning. All life sign's are gone; as if they never existed."

"Taken to their journey." Litran sighed. "At least they will no longer need to be concerned with life's ailing struggles." Bitran walked to her side, atop the command platform and sat at the navigation's station. He scanned the system and realized that there was little need to remain there.

"Setting a random jump course." Bitran typed in various commands and the ships engines hummed to life. The Ark vanished in a bright flash as it quietly slipped into the void of subspace. Bitran stood from the station and placed a soft hand on Litran's shoulder. "We should find a remote world to start rebuilding. I'll take a few sentinels and repair the hull breach. Everything will be automatic from here on out. You should rest." Bitran walked off the command deck as Litran gazed silently at the view screen. Everyone was gone, everyone she had served with and protected had been taken by the great wave, but she and her mate were left behind to start again. She felt great comfort when there were four other reclaimers at her side, but now only two of them remained. She was grateful that her mate was with her, but the realization that she was all alone in the galaxy weighed heavily on her shoulders. She leaned forward, her stern will and strength no longer able hide the overwhelming emotions that continued to build inside. Triton, Felucia, Paris, Follon and Mace were gone; her friends and allies no longer able so share in the recreation of the Empire. They were taken on the journey to the other side of existence and left Bitran and herself to do it all alone.

She wept.

- - - - - - - -

The Ancient City  
Seed Ship  
13:12 October 26, 2552  
Slip Space time difference: Minus 8 hours

A cooling wind whisked through the open windows of the stone building as Gridolee continued to listen to the com. "Are you certain?" Gridolee questioned into his personal communicator. With a perplexed gaze he pondered the words he was hearing as he looked to the other Mirratord warriors that were resting around the room. "Yes, I will relay the message to the Second immediately." He removed his helmet and laid it at his feet. He then ran his hand across his head in thought.

"Well?" Simyaldee sat up from his resting cot in the corner of the room, and looked to Gridolee for an update. The tone in Gridolee's voice had alerted him that something had happened.

"Sir, there was an incident on the command deck. It happened a few moments after the battle with the creature was concluded. The honored human, Sergeant Raynord… he threatened high elder Vornaldea." All of the resting Mirratord warriors sat up to this news and began mumbling amongst themselves.

Simyaldee stood up and looked to Gridolee sternly, "Why did he do such a thing?"

"As best I can guess, he was determined to go and assist the other humans in the battle against the Covenant. Supreme Commander Timnaldee has agreed to assist the humans by letting them use this ship's resources and make repairs to their fleet. But I can not understand the human's reason for threatening the elder. It does not seem like something he would do."

"Where is Sergeant Raynord now?" Simyaldee questioned.

"He was last seen with the human Captain, on the command deck."

Simyaldee slipped on his vest armor and arm gauntlets as he began to exit the room, "I will go and speak with him…"

"Not on my watch." Stated the soft voice of an ageing Doctor Catherine Halsey. She entered the room and placed her hands on Simyaldee chest; pushing him backwards. Catherine was dwarfed by the tall elite warrior and Simyaldee could have easily stepped passed her, but he knew why she had come. Following behind her was a female elite nurse. A very rare sight in the Sangheili forces, and her presence gained the favor of all the elites within the room. As Catherine stopped in the center of the room she stated, "I'll need blood samples from all of you. And I'll need to do a thorough skin check. So if you don't mind… strip."

If an elite could smirk then clearly the female nurse assisting Catherine was gloating from ear to ear. Laughing at the tiny human's commanding tone. Compared to the male warriors, the female stood slightly smaller in build, but was still an impressive sight none the less. The female elite wore unique body armor that covered the full expanse of her chest, unlike the open vest style of the male warriors. Her helmet completely covered her eyes and was less decorative with only one spike raised at the top.

Each male within Simyaldee's rank gave her close attention as it was very rare to see a female amongst the soldiers. The female elite kept her distance as Catherine began to draw blood from each of the elite Mirratord and inspected their skin for signs of infection, and she maintained her silence no matter how loudly the males grunted toward her. Females that were permitted into the military were generally infertile, incapable of producing young and the male warriors treated them mostly as objects. They were not permitted into combat, and only used for nursing duties. The younger Mirratord warriors glared their teeth in a ritual display of acquiring her attention, and breathed heavily while letting their chests expand naturally; a show of strength and power.

Simyaldee chuckled at the young warriors. He himself found it enticing to see a trained female warrior, but he made no advance toward her. But even still, his warriors were well disciplined and kept their gestures to a minimum while she was working with the human doctor. They avoided interfering with her work, and behaved themselves as well as any Mirratord warrior should.

"There we go." Catherine sighed after nearly ten minutes of inspecting the group. "You all seem to be fine, but I want another check up in six hours. Better safe then sorry."

"Of course doctor." Simyaldee spoke on behalf of his team. "Did the humans and grunts check ups go as well?"

"Yes." Catherine's words were simple as she turned the elite female and nodded for her to follow. The two walked from the room and the Mirratord elites raced to the door to watch the female walk away.

"It has been a long time since I have seen a female with such a firm structure." Shouted one of the younger members of the Mirratord. "Sad, however, I did not smell the sweet essence of fertility on her."

Another elite chuckled, "Yet I would still give her a fair night of excitement." The group burst into laughter, but Simyaldee paid it no mind. They had earned a moment to relax. He swiftly dressed back into his armor and motioned toward the door.

Simyaldee brushed past the warriors and spoke only to Gridolee. "Assume command until I return. I'm going to the command deck. Notify me when it is nearly time for our second check up."

- - - - - - - -

Eric stood motionless and gazed at the hologram before him. It was a perfect image of Kim, just as he had always remembered her. His eyes grew heavy as memories began to flood back into him; romantic times, happy times, and sad times. He looked away, forcing back the strong feelings that wanted him to reach out and touch her. The lights in the room dimmed and caught him off guard. Kim's image now appeared brighter and more detailed before him.

She silently walked across the room, as if a hologram needed to move its legs. She then sat at a table and glared at Eric with a nervous gaze. Kim rested her hands under her chin and propped her head up with her arms. She continued to stare at Eric, waiting for him to say something.

With a sigh Kim finally addressed Eric, "nothing to say?"

"Siren, why are you doing this?" Eric calmly asked; he didn't want to say Kim's name. He folded his arms across his chest and huffed at her strongly.

"Three days after I died, they woke me up inside some medical facility. I was clinically dead but I still had some brain functions. Doctor Smith asked me if I wanted a second chance. I agreed. She illegally extracted my memories and placed them inside of me. I am a part of Siren and Siren is a part of me." Kim smiled, but her smile quickly left her when she saw the scowl on Eric's face. She looked away. "My memories were locked away until you, and only you, said the keyword to activate them."

"Keyword?"

"Oddly enough I chose the one word that I always hated to hear you say…"

Eric chuckled sadistically and cut off Kim's explanation, "Let me guess. 'Rose'."

"Imagine my surprise when you screamed her name on board the Life and Sacrifice." Kim laughed. "She was being held hostage and you were with Melanie, racing to help Red Squad. It was as if a door had been opened. I remembered everything about you, Melanie, the Black Ops; so many memories came rushing back to me. I didn't want to tell you."

Eric unfolded his arms and walked toward the door, "I wish you hadn't." His words were scornful, and painful to Kim's ears. She knew he was upset and torn about what to think of the whole thing. Eric left the room and the door sealed behind him. Kim turned off her hologram image and scanned the command deck for his presence. She found him leaving the deck and heading for the central corridor. After realizing that Eric was alone, Kim accessed the hologram emitter nearest to his location and appeared at his side.

"You will deal with this right now!" She demanded. "You can't run from me Eric, I'm everywhere, remember?"

Eric dared not to look at her, "You may have Kim's memories, but you are not her."

Kim sulked slightly. She knew it was going to be difficult to break through Eric's shell. He was always a stubborn man when it concerned his emotions, but she wasn't going to let him walk away.

"You never could face me when you were upset." Kim snapped with a dark laugh. "Even dead I can't get you to face me. I never said I 'was' Kim! I said she is a part of me and I am a part of her. Damn it." Kim huffed as she walked ahead of Eric and peered into his eyes. "Melanie was able to understand, Roy and Mathew as well… but you can't seem to understand that I'm …"

"That you what?" Eric rebuked. "That you're dead or that you're alive? The woman I loved is gone. They killed her. I had to watch Kim die. I dealt with that pain… so why are you making me deal with it again?"

"Because it's affecting Rose." Kim softly added. "Melanie hates her, and won't give her a chance. I convinced her to at least talk to her today, but no telling how that will go. You won't let Rose get near you anymore, as soon as we arrived on the elite home world you dumped her onto Wesley. Eric, has it dawned on you that she's out here all alone?"

"I've known her a lot longer then you have. She's a tough girl, she'll be alright. Besides, she and Wesley have a past. They'll work it out."

"Really, so that's why she's trying so hard to prove herself to you. I don't see her racing to Wesley's side whenever she has a spare moment, or curling up on a cot next to him when he's injured. She's trying, Eric, but you don't seem to care. And you haven't known her as long as I have."

"What the hell are you doing?" Eric questioned with an irritated sigh. He ran his hand across his face in confusion as he looked to Kim's hologram for an answer. "You're filling my head with all of this now! You hated her. You know how hard I chased after her in school, so why are you on her side now?"

"Because she's here. I have an opportunity to correct a mistake, and possibly make two people happy. You brought her out here, so I'm taking advantage of this situation."

"I had to do something. The Covenant found Earth. She had a better chance of surviving with me than on Earth."

"You brought her because you wanted to protect her. But now you're pushing her away."

"I have Red Squad and four platoons under my command, and I'm always at the head of combat. If she stays with me everywhere I go…"

"I died because that was my place; at your side in combat." Kim quickly blurted, cutting off Eric statement. "We fought side by side, but she isn't a soldier, Eric. She doesn't know what to do out here. If you want her to stay out of combat then you have to tell her that, but don't push her away."

"I'm not going to make the same mistake twice." Eric sulked.

"You didn't make a mistake, Eric. You couldn't help me. I made that call, but this isn't about keeping Rose safe. This is about what I did to her." The door across from Kim and Eric, parted and Simyaldee stepped through. Before the elite could see who Eric was talking too, Kim quickly changed her appearance back into the image of the Greek Goddess known as Siren.

"We'll speak more of it later." Siren acknowledged. "I'm not done with you yet, mister."

Eric was taken back by the sudden transformation and then noticed Simyaldee approaching. He was even more curious about the last thing she said.

"You never could drop an argument, could you?" Eric whispered as Simyaldee stopped in front of him.

"That's why you love me so much." Kim whispered.

"Sergeant, I have heard some most dreadful news." Simyaldee stated, ignoring the words that he had easily heard.

"The thing with elder Vornaldea?" Eric questioned back.

"Yes. Did you really threaten him?" Simyaldee stood firm and looked at the face of the construct standing at Eric's side. He wondered why humans relied so heavily on the constructs, but passed the thought as he listened to Eric.

"Listen, I'm not going to hold back my words…"

"Oh lord." Siren balked as she placed her hand to her temple.

"… I hate all of you. Yet, as warriors fighting for a cause, I respect you. We have an alliance and I'll honor that, just as you have honored me. But I can not let our alliance hinder my mission."

"I see." Simyaldee nodded, agreeing to his words. He rubbed his right lower mandible in thought. "It is no different than any of us. If we have a task, we will fulfill it at all means. That is what it means to be a Mirratord warrior. We handle the tasks that must be done, regardless of whom it may affect." Simyaldee thought more, and noticed that Siren appeared shocked at his response. He then looked to Eric, "However…" With a lightning quick reaction Simyaldee reached out and grabbed Eric's collar and pulled him close; lifting him off the ground. "There are limitations to all actions." Simyaldee snarled.

The elite Second was two feet taller then Eric and easily lifted him off the floor with one arm. The two gazed into each others eyes, judging the strength of the other. A mental battle was happening, a struggle to see who was the strongest; it was a battle to see who held the upper hand.

Simyaldee was the first to yield, but only in respect. "You are fast, human. You are indeed worthy of your honor. You drew your weapon faster then I had predicted." As Simyaldee lowered him, it was clear that Eric was holding his sidearm firmly against the elite's chest, just beneath his heart. At point-blank range the wound from the Magnum could have been fatal, as his shields would have been useless at that range.

Eric smirked and slipped the weapon back into his hip holster. Siren was without words. Terrified and shocked at what she had just witnessed. She stared at them with tight lips and holding her breath; if she could actually breathe.

Simyaldee nodded his head in respect of Eric, "There are two things you must know, Sergeant. Never threaten the High Elder. He gives us, the Mirratord, our orders."

"What's the second thing?" Eric smirked.

Simyaldee smiled and folded his arms, "Kill or be killed."

"I like the second one." Eric and Simyaldee shared a soft laugh while Siren gazed at them oddly.

She then rolled her eyes, "I will never understand men. Are you two friends now?"

"In an alliance there are no friends, simply an understanding that we will not kill each other." Simyaldee stated. "If we were to become enemies, there would be no hesitation in his death."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, I need to talk to Elder Vornaldea and Commander Timnaldee."."

Eric and Simyaldee began to walk back toward the command deck while Siren faded away, "This doesn't mean that I'm done talking to you Eric."

- - - - - - - -

A soft wind blew across the lake as civilians began to freely roam about the town. The tall untamed grass at the edge of the city quickly became a resting spot for hundreds of grunts that were not on patrol, and Methane tents provided them with an adequate escape from their armor. Just south of the grunt camp were the last of the hunter pairs that had survived the battle on Dorenth. Most had been split up amongst the seventy six ships within the Sangheili fleet, and the last twelve remained within the Ancient City. To the west of the grunts, closer to the lake, rested the humans. A small group of pelicans made excellent shelter and temporary bunks, while the humans finally found a moment to relax.

Rose lifted the plate on Kelly's back and probed inside with a small flashlight. Kelly sat on a tree stump while Rose worked on making small adjustments to her MJOLNIR armor. Beside them rested the bulk unit that made up Eric's unit. The surviving ten members were all asleep, resting for the battle they knew would be coming. Wesley was sitting off to the side of the group discussing the fastest route to the Rouge Fantasy with Juggernaut. He had ordered enough pelicans to land in the massive field in the event that they needed to get to the ship in a hurry.

Melanie was propped against a pelican tire and was looking at Rose sternly; Mathew 08 and Roy 02 slept at her side. She didn't really want to get to know Rose but Kim had briefly scolded her after the Gravemind battle and she was right, Rose had done nothing wrong; she was a victim of an uncontrollable situation.

"How's that?" Rose sighed as she stepped away from Kelly's back pack.

"Very nice." Kelly stood up and rotated her arms loosely. "You even gave me back my fool range of motion."

"This suit is pretty shot, ma'am. Once we get back to Earth, we need to get you the Mark VI. There's only so much I can do anymore. It'll hold, but no telling how long that motivator will last under heavy fire. Your gel layers are nearly spent, and the coolant supply is running hot. I tried to fix it last time, but I still can't do anything with it."

"Trust me, Rose, you've done a ton." Kelly slipped her helmet back on and continued to check the settings while Rose closed the plating on her back pack.

"You sure you don't want to take it off? It'll be a while before we get to Earth."

"No. I'm more comfortable with it on. It's like a second layer of skin." Kelly looked around the camp and spotted the fire where the elites and were burning the remains of the Gravemind. She then noticed a specter speeding toward the bonfire, and riding on that specter was Doctor Halsey. "Thanks Rose." Kelly stated as she began to walk away from the camp, and toward the Catherine Halsey. Rose whipped her hands with an oily cloth and picked up the toolkit she had taken from a nearby warthog. As she secured the kit back in its resting spot she heard the grass ruffling behind her.

"Care to take a walk, Santos?" Melanie softly questioned. Rose looked at her nervously, but felt somewhat relieved seeing Melanie not in her Black Ops armor. She wore simple Marine fatigues and had a blade of grass in her mouth.

"Is that an order?" Rose cautiously returned.

"No." Melanie smiled. "It's a request." Rose nodded her head softly and they quietly walked toward the lake.

- - - - - - - -

Mars Orbit  
12:32 October 26, 2552  
Slip Space time difference - minus 2 days 8 hours

"It's about time." Captain Haden barked as alarms rang across the bridge of his ship, the Inner Power. Colonel Ackerson huffed as he entered the command deck, ignoring the Captain's rebuke.

"Is it them?" Ackerson questioned.

One of the command crewmen shouted back, "We're still awaiting confirmation from the slip space whisper, but what ever it is, it's huge."

"Show me." Ackerson barked. The video appeared and a distorted pink and red image was displayed. A diamond shaped objected sat upon the screen, distorted and fuzzy, but the shape was clearly visible upon the pink-red image of slip space. "Is that it? It's so simple in design, nothing like the other forerunner artifacts we've found. But still, the shape is oddly familiar."

The command deck door parted and the click of heels echoed across the bridge, "The crystal." Doctor Smith calmly whispered.

"The crystal is pointless now; useless." Ackerson acknowledged. "And that is too big to a crystal."

"I know that it isn't a crystal. It's clearly a ship, but what I was suggesting is that it is shaped the same." Doctor Smith sighed. She walked to Captain Haden's side and gazed into the monitor. "What do you think, Captain?"

Haden looked back at her and loosely rubbed his chin in thought, "I don't care what it is so long as it's friendly." His eyes motioned back to the image and the realization that it might be hostile quickly crossed his mind. "All hands, yellow alert. This is not a drill."

The bridge quickly exploded with activity as Ackerson turned his attention back toward the Captain, "Is that really necessary, Captain? We know that it is them. For goodness sake, who else would have these exact coordinates?"

"When it comes to the safety of my ship, Colonel, you have no place. You can tell me where to go, but you can't tell me how to protect my crew. If that thing is hostile, then I want my crew to be prepared."

"Then why not sound red alert and be done with it?" Ackerson huffed.

A crewman shouted across the deck, "Slip space rupture on the port side. Distance… damn it, three thousand!"

Captain Haden gasped and glared at the officer, "Kilometers?"

"Feet, captain!" The crewman nervously shouted back as the ship began to shake and moan from the gravitational affect of the slip space rupture.

Captain Haden staggered to his command chair and wrapped his arm around Doctor Smith, pushing her into the seat, "All hands brace for impact! Sound collision alarms!"

Everyone quickly turned to the window as a blinding light drowned the command deck. Everyone closed their eyes and shielded them with their hands, but even that wasn't enough. The flash of light appearing from the slip space event horizon burned through their eyelids and appeared to be coming from everywhere. When the glow faded, everyone quickly began to blink away the spots that were clouding their vision, and to their amazement they were dwarfed by a ship which was so large that space could not be seen around it. Giant metal arms began to extend toward all four of the ships in the 501, as other covenant cruisers and capital ships could be seen along the docking bay.

The bridge speaker of all the ships buzzed to life with a soft female voice, "This is Captain Monroe of the Rogue Fantasy, to the ships of the 501. Stand down your weapons."

The metal arms clamped onto the Inner Power and three other arms gripped the other ships. The Inner Power was pulled into the central docking ring of the Seed Ship and then the other ships softly docked.

Colonel Ackerson happily smiled, "All hands stand down. That was damned close, Captain Monroe."

Siren then spoke over the com channel, "Sorry sir, we didn't factor in the ships size when I calculated the jump." However, Siren knew exactly what she was doing. She was sure that her entrance was grand, and hopefully it scared the Colonel; a little.

Ackerson then smirked toward Haden and began to gloat. "All we need now are my Spartans, and we'll end this war."

- - - - - - - -

13:45 October 26, 2552  
Conference room aboard the Inner Power

Three video images hovered at one end of the long table behind Colonel James Ackerson. Sweat beads filled Ackerson's brow, knowing full well that his actions would be held accountable. But for now he focused his attention to the mater at hand. At his side were the images of the most powerful leaders reaming.

Lord Hood sat in the center screen. The screen to his left was of a female ONI Official, Major Elizabeth Rawlings. To the right of Lord Hood's image was the Arbiter, however he seemed somewhat distracted and the sound of gun and plasma fire was constant behind him. The door parted and Captain Haden walked in, followed by Captain Monroe, Sergeant Raynord of the Black Ops, and two elites; Supreme Commander Timnaldee and Lieutenant Simyaldee. Ackerson was somewhat taken back by the elite's presence but kept silent. They all circled the table and sat down.

"Arbiter." Timnaldee stated with a kind nod to the screen.

The arbiter easily recognized the helmet and colors that Timnaldee wore and addressed him accordingly, "Supreme Commander. Did the brutes attack our home?"

"Yes, but we shall discuss it in due time." Timnaldee replied softly. He felt that now was not the time to inform him of their home world's fate.

"Alright everyone, lets make this quick." Hood sharply stated from his screen. "The Covenant are regrouping and the flood numbers have been drastically reduced, thanks in part to the Arbiters forces. But that forerunner ship in orbit is still a threat. The Master Chief successfully disabled the ship's engines before he escaped from it, but they'll eventually make repairs and then attack." Lord Hood glared at Ackerson, somewhat angry that it took him so long to bring the battle group back to Earth. "I will ignore your actions up to this point, Colonel, but it will not be forgotten. You will be formally held accountable for everything. Now, give me your report."

Ackerson nodded, "Yes. Five days ago, Major Elizabeth Rawlings and I, agreed that we needed another option for saving humanity. We reactivated my Black Ops program and commissioned a plan to find a forerunner ship that was believed to have recreated life after the Halo's fired the first time. The ship you see on your monitor is that ship."

"It is certainly interesting, Colonel." Major Rawlings stated with a curt smile. "Nearly one third the size of our moon. But does it function?"

Hood cut in, "We don't have time to worry about your plans, Major. For now, we need defensive options against the Covenant fleet and that Forerunner ship of theirs. It's immobile and we've been taking shots at it with our MAC rounds, but they are useless against its shields. We have also lost a dozen ships to its weapons. And now, long range scanners just detected High Charity moving into Sol space." Everyone gasped at this news, shocked to know that High Charity was still functioning. Colonel Ackerson began to sweat even more but nervously kept his composure.

The Arbiter replied with a shocked tone, "Are you certain? The construct, Cortana, and I destroyed it."

"It's true, Arbiter. Recon probes confirmed it. It somehow survived the explosion, or the flood repaired it enough to get it this far. It is beat up and falling apart, but it is mobile and slowly headed our way."

Timnaldee sighed as he replied, "If that is the case, then every ship that we left in High Charity's orbit will be under flood control. The parasite is crafty, to think that they could have found a new power source for High Charity and configured it to work within its systems."

"I agree, Commander." The Arbiter nodded. "But I believe it was that Gravemind creature that found a way to repair High Charity. I had a brief encounter with it when I rescued the Construct." An explosion happened behind the Arbiter and he turned away yelling to a group of humans and elites at his side, "Forgive me, but my containment teams need assistance. The parasites have found a way through our second line. I must go."

"Arbiter do you need assistance?" Lord Hood questioned sternly. "I can relocate a few more platoons to your region…"

"No, they will only add confusion to my line. I will be in touch." The video faded and the group all exhaled as they pondered the Arbiter's situation.

Timnaldee felt a dire amount of apprehension for the Arbiter situation, but even more at the knowledge that another Gravemind was aboard High Charity. "Another of the Gravemind creatures?"

Simyaldee then voiced, "It appears that we are not the first to encounter this form of the parasite."

"What is this Gravemind, that the Arbiter speaks of?" Hood questioned as an off screen crewman passed him a small datapad.

Captain Monroe addressed everyone, "From what we know, it is the evolution of the flood and a unique gene found within select individuals of all species. We call it …"

"The super soldier gene." Hood quickly replied, to everyone's amazement. "Major Rawlings, you have any more information on this?"

"No sir. I uploaded everything just now." Rawlings was doing something off screen and then looked back to the group. "It is quite hard to kill and just one of these creatures can spread flood spores across the face of an entire world. Beyond that, we don't know of anything more."

Timnaldee extended his hand in a questioning gesture. "Wait, you know of this?"

"Only recently, Commander." Rawlings replied. "I can't say more then that over this airwave. The flood are listening."

Hood quickly cut into the lull in the conversation, knowing that time was crucial. "Colonel, the rest of your report and make it quick."

Shocked out of his daze, Ackerson continued his report. "The elite fleet has agreed to let any ships use their docking ring to make repairs. They have enough forerunner constructors on board that we can repair minor damage in a matter of minutes. The facilities aboard this ship are quite useful."

"That's wonderful news. Supreme Commander, do what you can to slow down High Charity. Reports say that it will arrive in two days. I can't spare any ships to aid you against High Charity when it arrives. It is going to take everything we have just to keep that forerunner ship away from the Earth's surface when it starts moving again. When that ship tries to land, I doubt we can stop it. The chief did what he could to try and destroy it from the inside, but he was hopelessly outnumbered."

"We will not be engaging High Charity." Timnaldee stated to the group. "This Seed ship is filled with civilians, the last of our race. We will not risk putting them in danger."

The room fell silent but Ackerson could no longer hold his peace, "You told me you have seventy six ships in your fleet, but you won't fight?"

"Colonel, hold your tongue." Hood ordered. "The last of your race? I see, then things must have been far worse then we expected. We have no right to ask you to leave your civilians unguarded, Commander. And we thank you for allowing us to use your ship for repairs. A small group of frigates are now in route to your position, and we will rotate accordingly. Colonel, bring the 501 back to Earth and station them around the battle cluster. We can use the assistance. Supreme Commander, any assistance is better then none."

"I will lend the Arbiter twenty five of our ships, but that is all I can spare. I will be in contact with the Arbiter at his soonest availability. I will refer any additional information to him." Timnaldee stated to the screen.

"Admiral, we can't let them …" Ackerson began, but Hood's gaze gave him all the reason to cut his statement short.

"Major, Colonel; I will be in touch. I will do what we can to put a few MAC rounds through High Charity once it enters our kill zone, but that also depends on what those Prophets are planning aboard the forerunner ship. I'm sure they know High Charity is coming." Hood's image faded leaving Major Rawlings the only image gazing at the group.

With Hood's absence Ackerson quickly began to shove his weight around, "What in the hell happened out there, Monroe?" His fist slammed on the table and his face turned blood red in frustration. "This ship was to be used for our purposes, now we have it crowded with elites that won't allow us to use it!" Timnaldee and Simyaldee scuffed at the human's words as they glared at him sternly.

Monroe sighed, "Please excuse the Colonel. He has not been fully debriefed until now."

Major Rawlings turned her attention to Eric, "Still unable to complete a mission successfully, Sergeant? This is twice that you've disappointed me. Are you going to let someone else take the blame this time?"

Eric maintained his calm, "Ma'am, when in the field situations change. Considering everything that happened out there, be thankful we came back at all."

"We can save everyone, Sergeant! You have no idea of what that ship is capable of." The Major added.

Eric softly grinned, "You planned on firing Halo." The Major glared at Eric harshly, but her harsh stare quickly turned into a smile.

"I see, so Siren told you the plan."

"You discovered the Ark's remote firing ability, and that the Ark could protect you. You wanted the Seed ship so that you could use the cloning facilities to recreate everyon; but you didn't count on the Seed ship having protocols."

"What Protocols?" Major Rawlings asked.

Captain Monroe commented, "In the event of the Ark going into Remote Activation, the Seed Ship can not be activated. The cloning facility is shut down and will not activate until after Halo has fired, or Remote Activation is discontinued. According to the keeper, this was a fail safe protocol used to prevent lower class species from trying to save themselves without permission."

"Colonel, have you verified any of this?" Major Rawlings seemed uneasy at this current news, and panic consumed her.

"No. But I will." Ackerson stood from the table and began to leave the room. "Captain Haden and Black Op 19, come with me."

"Colonel?" Eric asked in confusion.

Ackerson paused and glared at Eric. "I want to see this for myself."

"You'll do anything to keep yourself out of combat, won't you Colonel?" Captain Haden scuffed. He pulled a cigar from his breast pocket and lit it with a small laser flame. He took a long drag on the cigar, and exhaled its thick artificial smoke. "Sergeant, disobey that order."

"What the hell are you talking about, Captain? I gave both of you an order!"

"Yes, and Lord Hood gave me the order to report to the front line. The 501 is needed, and at this moment Sergeant Raynord is under my command. His Black Ops have finished their assignment, and are no longer running Black Ops missions, meaning they are under the command of the 501. That includes the Rogue Fantasy and her crew."

"The 501 is my battle group, Captain." Ackerson huffed. "You have no authority…"

"You have disobeyed a direct order from Lord Hood on several occasions. This time, I heard the order to report to the front, and I will take this battle group to defend Earth." Haden turned to Eric and Captain Monroe. "Any objections?"

"No Sir." Eric answered happily.

"None." Monroe added. "I would also like to add that the elites have not given you permission to board their ship. Am I wrong, Supreme Commander?"

Timnaldee nodded in agreement, "There is much that needs to be done to protect your world, and we do not have time to give this human Colonel a tour. High Charity draws near and repairs must be done to as many of your ships as we can."

"James." Major Rawlings sighed. "Get the battle group to Earth. We must fight this war. It's our only option now."

"What good can my ships do against the covenant fleet and that Forerunner ship?" Ackerson nervously stuttered as he looked to Major Rawlings image. "We… we need the elites to fight with us."

"And so your true colors shine." Captain Haden smirked. He took a long drag on his cigar and sternly looked at the colonel. "You aren't worthy of you're uniform." Captain Haden stood from his seat and looked to Major Rawlings image. "The 501 will be reporting to our assigned location, Major. Captain Monroe, you said you had important intel for the brass on Earth?"

"Correct. A possible means for curing, and preventing the spread of the flood." Captain Monroe knew not to mention Dr. Halsey in the presence of Colonel Ackerson. Rumor of their hatred for one another had spread rapidly over the past few years.

Major Rawlings looked toward Captain Monroe and added, "Bring that information to Camp Eden. Well look it over thoroughly."

"Yes ma'am." Monroe sharply replied.

Simyaldee and Commander Timnaldee stood from the table as well. Timnaldee brushed past Ackerson, as he still stood in the doorway, and the two shared a brief glance, but spoke no words. Ackerson held his spot and lowered his eyes as they passed. Eric followed close behind and he stopped in front of his cowardly superior officer.

"Was it worth it, Colonel?" Eric questioned. "You lied to all of us that day, when you promised that we would be Spartans. Was it worth the sacrifice to my men?" Monroe walked behind Eric and gently placed her tiny hand into the small of Eric's back, pushing him softly out of the room. Eric wanted to hit him, and put the man under his boot. Despite the anger and frustration that Eric had toward him, he held his peace and didn't step beyond his place; Colonel Ackerson was still his commanding officer. Monroe simply nodded as she walked past Ackerson. The door hissed shut as they exited, and Ackerson crossed his arms and sulked. He scornfully clasped his fist and gazed at Captain Haden. Haden was still puffing his cigar, and ignored Ackerson's soul burning stare.

Pulling the cigar from his mouth, "You know I had to do it."

"You have been waiting for the past two months to pull that stunt!" Ackerson barked. "You made me look like a coward."

"No sir, you did that yourself."

"Colonel, have a seat." Rawlings stated through the video feed. "You as well, Captain Haden. Let's talk of an alternative to saving humanity. There are still more options to winning this war. And news of this 'cure' is rather alarming."

- - - - - - - -

The Rogue Fantasy's landing deck was bustling with human activity as marines, ODST and crewmen hustled about to prepare their pelicans for combat. Of the Rogue Fantasy's compliment of forty birds, only thirty eight were available, and Juggernaut was making sure that they were all ready to take the troops to battle. Ammo lockers and weapons mounts were being loaded, additional warthogs and scorpion battle tanks were being shipped in from the Inner Power and upgraded weapons were being added to the Rogue Fantasy's arsenal. The four platoons aboard the Rogue Fantasy would be going to Earth with a full refit.

As Eric walked onto the deck, he quickly spotted Melanie barking orders with Wesley handing out assignments to the fifteen Marines that now made up Red Squad. Eric walked down the small incline and found himself quickly becoming the focal point of every squad nearby. The roughly eight hundred soldiers turned and dropped everything that they were doing, as their squad leaders all called out attention on deck.

Eric couldn't help but grin, "That's what I like to see. A bunch of rock hard, bad-ass and mean sons-of-bitches. Get back to work!" His voice carried across the expansive deck and everyone returned to their duties. Eric was the most respected Sergeant on the ship, and to some of the other Sergeants he was still considered a Lieutenant; demotion be damned. Half of the officers aboard the Rogue Fantasy remembered his actions at Troy and how his plans and leadership saved their lives, and the Marines and ODST that were aboard the Life and Sacrifice regarded him as their leader based on skill and guidance. Everyone respected him, regardless of their personal feelings.

Eric stepped closer to Wesley and the young man turned with a quick solute. Eric returned the gesture loosely and looked around the deck, as if he were looking for something or someone. He then eyeballed Wesley in a questioning manor.

Wesley cursed under his voice because he was sure that he knew what Eric was pondering. "Sorry sir. I lost her when we were ordered back aboard the Rogue Fantasy. You said we were going to be facing combat soon, so I was eager to start prepping the Marines."

"Nobody can keep up with her." Eric laughed to himself. He began to walk away but realized that he had to ease some of the tension between him and the young man. "Wesley, do you still care about her?"

Wesley didn't know how to respond, "Permission to speak freely, sir?" Eric nodded his approval. "I was just a toy she had to play with while she was in Australia. It was a fling, nothing more. I got attached and burned. Then you showed up at New Mombasa and I … I knew how she felt about you." Wesley paused and forced a smile toward his leader. "I apologize for my behavior as of late, and I promise that it will not happen again."

"It's okay she has that effect on men. But I didn't realize it until today." Eric turned and began to walk away. "You shouldn't have to worry about her anymore. Carry on."

Eric walked away from Wesley and didn't notice the athletically toned female marine loading ammo into the pelican's munitions mount. Had he known that she was standing there he would have quickly called her out, but Rose blended in well with the other marines nearby. Her hat was pulled down across her brow and her hair was tucked beneath it. She overheard the conversation but ignored responding. She simply focused on her task with a clear determination to find her place in the coming battle. Rose knew that Eric wouldn't approve of her sneaking into Red Squad's ranks, but she had to go with them. She had to go into battle. She had to be by Eric's side, even if it meant that she might die.

As Eric stepped clear of Red Squad he brushed past Melanie and she quickly tracked him with her eyes. She then flagged for Wesley to continue her discussion to Red Squad as she ran to catch up with Eric.

As Eric neared the ramp leading back off the landing deck, Melanie called out to him. "Sergeant, can I have a word with you?" Eric paused and waited for his long time friend to catch up with him. "I spoke with Doctor Smith. She wants to meet with us. She was just reassigned to our crew manifest and she's on the command deck with the Spartan and Doctor Halsey now."

"Tell 02 and 08 to come along, I'll meet you up there in a moment."

"Actually, Roy and Mathew are already on their way up there." Melanie countered. "I was actually hoping that we could go up together. There's something I wanted to talk about."

"Rose and Siren?" Eric grinned.

"Mostly Rose. I don't really want to talk much about Siren." They began to make their way off the landing deck and Melanie nervously slipped her hands into her pockets. "Siren scolded me a few days back, telling me to take it easy on Rose. She wanted me to talk to her, and get to know her. It was the funniest thing, cause I know how much Kim hated Rose, but now Siren is her biggest fan."

Eric chuckled softly, "I got the same treatment."

"Want to know what's really funny? I actually enjoyed my talk with Rose. We are different, but she has a lot of good qualities. I've been so busy trying to hate her that I never took the time to see who she was. All I saw was the woman that took you away from the Black Ops, and the woman that tried to replace my sister."

"Rose can never replace Kim." Eric rested his head against the back of the elevator as the door closed. Melanie leaned backward and let her head land against Eric's shoulder.

"No one can replace Kim. She was my sister, but Rose is certainly the love of your life. Siren told me something that made me think, and I will never forget it. She told me to read my flask, the one she gave me when we made it out of boot camp."

"Do or die." Eric whispered. "She engraved it for you."

"She wanted me to remember why she engraved those words. It wasn't for battle, it was for life. She told me when she gave it to me what it meant, but I never really understood. Basically it meant to not die miserable. To do the things you want to do in order to be happy." Melanie stepped away from Eric and looked at him. "She told me why she hated Rose, but did she tell you?"

Eric looked at Melanie with a confused glare, "No."

The elevator stopped suddenly and the speaker buzzed to life, "I think I should." Siren stated through the speaker. Melanie lowered her head and leaned against the side wall. "Despite her affection towards men, Rose never took advantage of your friendship back in school, despite her obvious attraction towards you. Have you ever wondered why?"

"I thought it was because we were different…"

"Partially, but it was mostly because she was my roommate. She knew how I felt about you, and respected my feelings. I hated her because you wanted her. It wasn't until we left school and joined the UNSC that you finally began to look at me."

Melanie sighed, "Despite your advances on her, Eric, Rose never made the first move. She respected Kim's feelings. Rose pushed you away because of Kim." Melanie cast her eyes downward as she felt a slight since of shame. "I never knew. Kim had never told me about Rose. I didn't even know that they were roommates in school. After all this time, Rose never dared to cross Kim's memory. Reason enough to forgive her, I think."

The elevator resumed its course and Eric thought intently on what he was hearing, "Wait, stop the elevator."

The elevator speaker buzzed again. "Sorry Eric, there's no time left. I've fully updated myself and rejoined the Rogue Fantasy's mainframe. Captain Monroe is ready to head out, as well is the 501. The Keeper seems most unhappy with the idea of not going closer to the Ark but I convinced him to understand the elites… just a moment. Two phantoms are on approach and requesting permission to land."

Eric was frustrated about not finishing the discussion, but all things considered he had to do his duty, "Granted. Tell Private Williams to greet them." The elevator door parted. Melanie stepped onto the command deck and Eric followed closely behind. Ahead of them, sitting at a small conference room table, was Captain Monroe, Doctor Carolyn Smith, Doctor Halsey and standing against the wall was the towering Spartan, still wearing her full armor. At her side stood Mathew 08 and Roy 02.

"… so what you're saying is that the Black Ops are Spartans?" Doctor Smith questioned as she sternly conversed with Catherine Hasley.

"Yes. Armor alone does not make the Spartan." Catherine replied. "My blood samples have clearly marked an incredible amount of change within them since I injected them with the cure. It awoken the super soldier gene within the clones muscle tissue you used within them, and aside from the bone treatments, the Black Ops show the same muscle strength as any of the Spartan II. With their muscle enhancements, but lack of bone treatments, I would have to compare them to Spartan I."

"Well, that is…" Doctor Smith suddenly looked up and into Eric's eyes with a warm smile. "Hello 19. It's been a while."

"Yes ma'am. It has."

"05, you're looking as fit as ever. Still causing problems with the brass?"

"No ma'am, I haven't had the opportunity." Melanie smiled in return. Doctor Smith walked closer to Melanie and shook her hand.

"Have you … spoken with Siren?" She asked nervously. Melanie's smile slowly faded and she simply nodded her answer. "Good, it was all I could do for her at that moment."

Captain Monroe stood from the table, cutting the conversation short and began to take charge of the meeting, "Glad we are all finally together. A holo screen appeared in the center of the circular table that they were sitting at and it showed the location of the covenant fleet, the forerunner ship and the flood controlled ships that had landed on earth. "Cairo station just uploaded this to us ten minutes ago. The flood have ninety-three ships planet side, and the Arbiter is sternly leading his forces to advance on them, but he is mainly focusing his attack wave on the ships closest to the Ark. The majority of the flood controlled fleet appears to be focusing on landing in or around Africa. For reasons of security, the exact location of the Ark will not be disclosed by ONI; they have locked it down."

Eric paid close attention to the positioning of the forerunner ship, "It's in a stationary orbit, over the north pole. That gives it quick access to any location on Earth."

"Correct. " Monroe added. "As Lord Hood informed us, the ship's engines are down, but its shields and weapons are still fully operational. It's only a matter of time before the Covenant repairs its engines. However our problem will be slipping past the Covenant's defense net around Camp Eden." Monroe nodded toward Doctor Halsey.

"I know the Major ordered you to bring the information to Camp Eden, but I have a better idea. We need to link up with Cortana, and hopefully John, Spartan 117. If we can get the information I have to them, hopefully Cortana can access the Ark's mainframe. I believe we can reconfigure the Halo's remote firing sequence and target only the flood."

Eric turned to the Spartan standing against the wall, "Siren can upload the data into Kelly, and then we just have to find the Master Chief."

Monroe smiled, "Once again, you're reading my mind Sergeant. Your orders are simple. Once we enter orbit, find Cortana and the Master Chief and break through the Covenant defensive net around Camp Eden. 19, prep your teams, you have the full resources of this ship at your disposal. Good luck."

Eric, Melanie, Mathew, Roy and Kelly saluted sternly. "Yes sir."

"Dismissed." Captain Monroe watched as the group of warriors turned and walked from the room. She then pressed the com button on the desk. "Commander Timnaldee, it has been an honor to serve with you. The Rogue Fantasy is ready to disembark."

"Has my gift arrived?" Timnaldee questioned.

"Yes, they landed in the hanger bay moments ago. Are you certain that you want to part with them?"

"Hopefully we will not be engaging in combat, and if that is the case, they will not be needed with us. They are all volunteers"

"Thank you Supreme Commander. And good luck to you."

"Fight well, Captain." The com silenced and Monroe sighed heavily as her eyes wondered to Catherine and Carolyn.

"Are you two sure you want to remain on board? Once we enter Earth's atmosphere, I can't guarantee your safety."

"Where else would we go?" Catherine smiled.

Carolyn added, "I've escaped death more times then I'd like to count. This will simply be one more notch in my belt." Captain Monroe sat at the table and smiled in response as Carolyn and Catherine continued their discussion. She was concerned about this mission, and at the fact that the Covenant had completely surrounded Camp Eden. She chose to not share the additional intel that she had received about other UNSC ground forces that were heading into Camp Eden. They had all been shot down miles before they broke through. The Covenant new that something important was in Camp Eden's base, and they were determined to get it. Captain Monroe knew that she had best find a way to break through, or else this mission would end before it began. She continued to scan the dossier of frigates that was inbound for repairs and one of the ships had an attachment note on it. She pressed the icon and the memo opened. Amongst the Cargo was Mark VI battle armor requested by Doctor Roselyn Santos. "Rose?" Monroe mumbled to herself. "She must have ordered it for the Spartan, but how did she…"

"It was me, ma'am." Siren softly stated over the com. "I felt that we would need it for the Spartan, and since there was a frigate being dispatched from Songnim, I put in the order under Rose's name. They won't question it if it comes from her."

"Excellent planning, Siren. We'll rendezvous with that frigate on our way to Earth."

- - - - - - - -

The two phantoms descended toward the deck of the Rogue Fantasy and hovered more then twenty feet above the ground before it came to a stop. Inside one of the phantoms stood ten hardened elite warriors. They one by one descended out of the ship via the purple light of the gravity lift, and each one formed a line beneath the ship. Simyaldee stepped forward from the ten and looked at his warriors with a hardened glare. He knew them all by name, family history and fighting style. He had watched over them all with the exception being the tallest of the nine. He walked to the end of the line and approached the tall and massively strong looking elite Lieutenant.

Simyaldee spoke in their native tongue to the warrior that stood a full foot taller. "Gridolee now is the time to make amends for all you have done."

"Second, with honor and sacrifice, I will fight my enemies and show them no mercy."

"At my side, you will fight, you will show no hesitation and you will know no fear."

"My enemies blood shall stain my blades, and my roar will drive fear into the souls."

From the second Phantom descended ten grunts, led by Palab. His newest disciple, Migpap, followed closely behind. They lined up in front of the elites and formed two rows of nine. Palab stood at full attention at Simyaldee's side and barked orders to the grunts in front of him. Obeying his orders, the grunts stood five feet high and at perfect attention. Palab nodded to Simyaldee and awaited the Second to take over. Simyaldee turned to the eighteen Mirratord warriors in front of him. They were the right hand of the High Council and destined to take on this task.

He began to speak in basic covenant tongue so that they all could understand. "We are the Mirratord. We strike with speed and stealth."

Each of the nine elites and nine grunts replied in unison, _"Our enemies will not see their deaths. They will not know their fate."_

"In darkness, we will see light. In light, we will see darkness."

"_No matter the location, we will see victory."_

"If we fail, no one will know."

"_Like a ghost, our presence is a mystery. For the honor of the Mirratord." _

Simyaldee glared at the eighteen warriors, happy to have served with such fine elites. He was still growing accustomed to Palab's newest trainees, but happy to see that he had found nine worthy replacements to his original team. He looked to them and began with his orders.

"We will work together with the honored human and his team. But our primary goal is to find the Arbiter and join into his ranks as his personal bodyguards during this campaign. The Arbiter must be protected and guarded. The High Council deems it necessary." Simyaldee heard footsteps behind him; the loud rubber knocking of human combat boots. He turned and looked down to Private Wesley Williams.

"Welcome aboard. It's going to take us forty minutes to reach Earth. Your squad is free to move about the ship." Wesley's eyes couldn't help but migrate toward Gridolee, but he ignored him.

"Thank you human." Simyaldee returned. "We will rest here until combat is upon us. And I wish to speak to Sergeant Raynord, to discuss our plan of action."

"He'll be here soon, for battle prep." Wesley remarked. Simyaldee nodded toward Palab and the grunt dismissed the warriors. They parted and each began to check their weapon packs and supplies.

Simyaldee then turned back to Wesley, "I see the glint in your eyes, and I recall that you and Gridolee had a… encounter. Death is in the air, and battle lingers in our future. We were once enemies, but now we are allies, united to defeat a common foe. Put the past matters behind you."

"That's good for you to look forward to battle, but we humans aren't too eager to die. As for Gridolee, I really don't want to talk about."

"Do you fear death?" Simyaldee questioned to the tiny human before him. "Is it not expected within your species?"

"It is expected, but we don't really look forward to dieing." Wesley remarked.

Simyaldee felt the sense of fear in Wesley about the coming battle. "Then let me be the one to warn you now. Many of us will die in the coming battle. All you can do now is prepare for it."

_**To be continued…**_


	26. Fire your weapon, soldier!

**Stage 26: Fire your weapon, soldier!**

Last Age: _Fall of the Forerunner Empire  
_Three days after Halo 04 Activation

A brilliant flash of light ruptured across space and the Ark appeared from nothingness. The ship slowly stopped its forward motion and the two crew members looked at each other as they stared at the distant star.

"Where are we?" Litran questioned as she looked at the tiny sun in the distance through the screen that appeared in front of her. At the bottom of the command deck, Bitran walked to the navigations computer and checked the logs.

"I programmed a random jump. The computer is scanning for recognizable…" Bitran paused as the screen flashed to life. "Dessaranth?"

"What?" Litran glanced at the screen as the video magnified two fold, showing a small molten world. Dessaranth was the third planetoid from the small sun and in the past it had two moons, now only one satellite orbited the uninhabitable world. "That was once our home, during the time of our ancestors. How did we come here?" Litran looked down to the navigation system and watched as Bitran scanned the computer display.

"All random jump coordinates are the same." Bitran replied. "The stellar navigation coordinates will not change. The ship won't reenter slip space. This is not right." Litran walked down from her command pedestal and stood at the helm controls.

"This is not a good time to be stuck in space." She tossed her long red hair over her shoulder and sat at the controls. She pressed several controls but nothing happened. "The helm is locked."

"What?"

"A pre set path has been programmed. We're heading for Dessaranth."

After several moments the Ark entered the thin toxic atmosphere that once supported human life. It was now nothing but a thin layer of ash which was caught in the gravity field when hundreds of volcanoes erupted, spewing their magma and gasses into the vastness of space. The Arks landing gears extended and the ship lurched to a stop.

Litran looked at Bitran, "That was the automated landing procedure, but why here? We can't rebuild our race on an uninhabitable world."

Bitran walked to another system and read the display, "The Ark is ready to transmit the instructions to the Seed ship. It's ready to reactivate to begin repopulating the selected worlds."

"No, not until we figure out what we are doing on this world." Suddenly the Ark began to shake violently. A massive system deep within the ship was transforming and several of the ships systems began to expand upward out of the ships hull. "What…"

Bitran glanced at the computer counsel, "By the Gods! Atmosphere processors initializing?" Bitran raced to the command deck's rear door and grabbed his helmet. "Litran, Come on!" The two reclaimers sealed their armor and raced to the exit hatch near the command deck. The gravity lift powered on and they jumped inside and were lifted to the top hatch. They exited the ship and walked along the top of the massive hull as several circular vents opened along the top. Bitran counted nine vents along the Ark's upper hull, and each vent had a ten foot radius.

"Bitran, what's happening?" Without warning a thick cloud of white steam began to spew out of the vents at a powerful rate. The cloud like steam hissed as it exited the ship and Bitran noticed that his visor was beginning to become saturated with condensation. He then checked his readings by placing his hand into one of the vent's powerful streams. Litran nervously grabbed him, fearing that something might happen, but she was overjoyed when he began to shockingly cheer.

"It's oxygen!" Bitran shouted. "Nitrogen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide and various other elements, but it is simply Oxygen." A rumble of thunder roared overhead as the atmosphere shifted slowly. Pressure was changing and soon rain began to fall upon Litran and Bitran's head. Bitran cheered even more, thrilled that the Ark could perform such a task.

"Bitran, the founders never told us the ship could do this." Litran nervously added. "This isn't right."

"The Gods of the founders are forever wise, Litran. They have always kept secrets, even from their most trusted servants. Perhaps the founders didn't know what the Ark was capable of. Think about it, it's perfect. Who would ever come to a dead world looking for us?"

"But the Law Keepers found a way to keep their memories. Once the Seed ship awakens them, they'll come after us."

"Why would they come here? If the law keepers are able to find a way to remember, then they would know that our home world was destroyed; uninhabitable. All of the records within the Forerunner Empire state that Dessaranth is nothing more than a rock in space. They would never come here to look for us." Bitran grabbed Litran by the shoulders and gazed into her reclaimer armor's reflective mask. "We are free. Free from the empire, free from the law keepers hatred, and free from the title of reclaimers. We do not have to serve the founders any longer."

"Free?" Litran questioned. Her entire life had been in service to the empire. Fighting, conquest, and subduing rebellions, was it all finally over? She sat on the hull as Bitran continued to cheer the exciting possibilities of being free from the empire's powerful grasp.

Two months passed and the Ark continued to vent its planet regenerating chemicals into the sky. An atmosphere had once again reformed and the sun shined brilliantly through a blue sky. Lakes had formed from the constant showers and distant storms cast rainbows across the horizon.

Bitran and Litran walked to the rear of the ship and neared a small room. They stepped into the room and once again marveled at the rows of DNA samples that lined the system of terminals. For the past ten days they had been growing the various creatures that would be the first life forms upon their new home.

"It'll take time to bring them all back. And then we can create more of us. Enough to rebuild and reproduce naturally, the way the Forerunners demanded of us." Bitran examined the list of creatures that were soon to reach maturity and Litran hugged him affectionately.

"The only good thing that Law Keepers have shown us is the consequence of too much cloning. Their bodies are frail and weak. They live long lives but suffer greatly for their constant cloning practices. I only wish we could have warned the founders of the Law Keepers deeds."

"Don't concern yourself with it any longer, Litran." Bitran commented as he happily worked at the computer station. "You are no longer the commander of all Reclaimer forces, and you don't have to worry about the Law Keepers betrayal."

A smile crossed Litran's face and she kissed Bitran on the back of the head. She walked away from the room and stepped out the door. She then walked down a short hallway and found herself at the ships exterior door. The door parted, and a gust of wind washed across her face. Her long hair whipped in the air and the clothes she wore flipped upward, exposing her athletically long pale legs. She closed her eyes an inhaled the fresh air as the sun rested against her face. She looked onward at the sunset as birds fluttered into the sky. She rejoiced at the idea that life was quickly blossoming around the Ark, life that she and her mate had recreated. But the animals, reptiles and insects instinctively began to breed and their numbers climbed. Grass began to grow as far as her enhanced vision could see and it would only be a matter of time before the nature would begin to heal itself, without the aid of the Ark.

Litran was happy they had found peace in their own Garden of Eden. But peace can not last forever, and soon Litran and Bitran would once again be forced to face troubling times. The future of their new world would be drastically affected.

- - - - - - - -

East Africa  
Covenant Defense net  
15:00 October 26, 2552

Puffs of dark clouds floated in the air as a cold front moved across the desert plains. The high cloud front provided excellent visual camouflage for any inbound ships, and the Rogue Fantasy lingered in its wake. The stealth ship's camouflage blended perfectly with the dark grey and white clouds as ten pelicans dropped from its bay. The reckon group, lead by Melanie 04, dropped through the clouds without engine power. They plummeted to the ground letting gravity do what it naturally does. Everyone clinched their seats, holding on as the g-forces tugged at their bowels. The pelicans then began to level off, as they dropped below covenant scanner range. Pulling up hard and close to the ground, dust exploded from the sandy dunes five miles from the covenant front.

All ten pelicans hovered and dropped five warthog troop carriers, and their cargo of Marines. Melanie jumped from the back of her lead bird and waved for Wesley to join her. He ran across the soft desert sand as the soft wisps of the pelicans engines roared back to life and into the air. The birds soared into the sky and vanished into the clouds. This was perhaps her last chance of seeing the light of day, and she marveled at it. But Melanie was a battle ready Black Ops Spartan; that was what Dr. Smith was calling them. She loved the title, and she was determined to make a name for herself by not dieing in this battle. Melanie wanted to see this war to the end.

Sixty marines and ODST scavenged their supplies and double checked their gear as Melanie looked them over. "Recon group, form up. We move fast and silent. The sergeant wants a detailed report in ten minutes, so let's get in range and setup. You know the drill. Load up and move out!" Sixty of the best eyes aboard the Rogue Fantasy loaded their supplies and they all boarded the warthog troop carriers. The extended bed on the back of a standard warthog was able to carry an addition six troopers, but they found a way to carry ten. They sped off over the hills.

Within three minutes they were in range of the closest Covenant front. The sound of mortar cannon fire echoed across the region as they approached. The warthogs scattered and parked near separate dunes. Com chatter was instantly cut and each squad leader knew their assignment. Snipers and spotters climbed the ridge, while the warthog drivers covered the hogs in a desert canopy to camouflage them from the numerous banshees and phantoms patrolling the region.

Melanie led her pack of eleven to the top of the ridge, and then dropped to a crawl as she approached the top. Similar activities were happening on various dunes across the ridge. Her repainted ODST armor blended well into the sandy environment and she was grateful for the repaint to her modified armor. She pulled up her goggles and glared into the encamped Covenant forces more then three hundred yards away. The massive plasma mortar canon was charging for another volley, and then spat its deadly blue super heated plasma into the air. Its target was three miles away, the heavily reinforced Camp Eden. Camp Eden was north of their position so Melanie was assured that the cannon wasn't firing at them.

As Melanie peered through her goggles she saw brutes, jackals and drones by the hundreds lingering about. A cruiser hovered in the hazy distance, stationed over another part of the defensive net several miles away. The ship wasn't her concern, breaking this weak point was. The Rogue fantasy had just received an update from ground forces out of Egypt and Cairo. A major offensive was set to take back the region around Camp Eden, and the Master Chief was leading the charge. But in order to get all of the troops into position a section of the net had to be taken down. The Rogue Fantasy was the only ship that could successfully deploy a regiment without notice. Several dots of blue plasma spotted the sky; arcing toward Camp Eden. She estimated ten volleys of mortar were being shot within her visual range.

Camp Eden was heavily defended and second only to the Hive in Australia. Camp Eden was the home of the Artifacts and Forerunner Research branch within ONI, and it was also a testing ground for new weapons against the Covenant. Even with the monstrously large mortar canons, the Covenant was unable to breach its defenses.

Through her goggles, Melanie marked off all the targets. Wraith pilots, stationary plasma turrets operators, plasma mortar operators, banshee pilots and command leaders were all red flagged. She then passed the information to every pair of goggles throughout the recon group and assignments were made instantly. Melanie's group would handle the command officers, Wesley's group would take down the mortar gunners, and the chain would continue thusly. After the initial volley of shots the group would fire at will, killing anything that moved. It would then be up to Eric and the others to do as much damage as possible.

Melanie inhaled and whispered to the sniper at her side, "Target one, clear shot." She gazed through the scope and eyed the highly decorated brute proudly strutting around the camp. The sniper at her side stopped breathing, and she knew it was time. "Clear. Clear. Clear." The sniper pulled the trigger and the SR99C cracked its deadly arsenal from the barrel. The sound was loud, but from their distance no one heard it. In Melanie's scope the Brute dropped to his knees lifeless as other brutes and jackals alike began falling into the sand. The first volley was over and as expected, the camp was in an uproar as thousands of troops began running around in a panic.

- - - - - - - -

The brute captain dropped to his knees as a spray of purple blood spat from the side of his head. His flag of honor waved as he crashed into the sand. The brute guard at his side stepped forward to assist him, but he also crumbled upon his own weight. A snap exploded near a mortar canon as the brute operator fell from the controls. Roars echoed throughout the camp, a battle cry, but no enemies had been reported.

A lone soldier wondered out of a trench and was horrified as several brutes dropped at his side. He tumbled backwards, into the trench and snarled in frustration. He raised his plasma rifle, looking for something to kill. When no enemy was spotted he began to sniff the air; nothing. There were no enemies within the camp.

He poked his head up from the trench and inhaled a lung full of air, and then he tasted the putrid aroma of human sweat. He glanced up, to the ridge in the distance, down wind of his location. Snipers, he instantly thought. He watched as a brute raced across his face and jumped into a ghost, only to be knocked out of it by a deadly precise sniper shot. The brute knew that they were pinned and had to signal the regiment as to where the humans were. A wraith tank sat ten feet from his position, he would have cover from the enemy fire and he could fire on the human's positions. He leapt from the trench and sprinted across the sand.

- - - - - - - -

Another brute raced across Wesley's scope. He was running toward a ghost and Wesley dropped him just as he boarded the speedy craft. Wesley zoomed in for another target as his spotter called out, "Same zone, in the trench. He smells us. Wait for a clear shot. Wait. Wait. Wait." The brute sprang from the trench and began to mad dash toward a nearby wraith. "Clear…" The rifle coughed. Wesley and his spotter watched as the brute tumbled forward and stopped at the base of the wraith tank; his blood pouring into the sand. "Zone two, two targets…" They moved on, picking targets and taking out any of the brutes that were trying to get to heavy weapons.

Over their head and high above the clouds, soared thirty pelicans, loaded with ground troops. In the lead phantom, Eric stood at the copilot's side and eagerly waited for the signal.

The com hissed, "This is recon 001. Heavy weapons and vehicles contained. Enemy units are still high, LZ is hot! It's now or never." Eric quickly recognized Melanie's voice, and even if things were worse, there was no chance of turning back.

"All platoons advance!" Eric barked over his com to the other pelicans. "I repeat. All platoons advance."

- - - - - - - -

The Mirratord worked in silence, they worked alone and they worked in secrecy. All those matters were taken into account as Simyaldee and his nineteen Mirratord warriors activated their advanced active camouflage and sprinted into the camp. Simyaldee, Gridolee and Palab led the charge. Unseen by normal eyes, the brutes would have to be looking for them in order to see them. The group of twenty had successfully snuck to the back side of the camp and were now about to pinch the brute forces in a death grip.

Palab jumped onto the back of an unsuspecting jackal, placed his hands on the creature beak and snapped its neck with little effort. All around him, other covenant forces were mysteriously dropping to their knees, silently dieing as invisible Mirratord grunts and elites killed them in a silent massacre. This was their environment, this was their war, and by the time the brute forces realized what was happening they would be dead.

Simyaldee watched as the human pelicans soared toward the camp, and suddenly everything became chaotic. Brutes were shouting and running toward the front lines as human sniper weapons were cutting them down. Simyaldee had told his Mirratord warriors to remain at the back of the camp in order to avoid the sniper fire, but what he saw ahead of him had to be dealt with. A row of Jackal snipers formed ahead of him and they would do severe damage to the human forces. They had to be eliminated.

Simyaldee whispered, "Gridolee, follow me. Palab, continue to deal with the traitors at the rear of the camp." A massive shift in light stood at Simyaldee's side and he knew that Gridolee had found him. They quickly began to sneak closer to the jackals.

- - - - - - - -

The roar of pelicans above Melanie's head grew to deafening levels, but she didn't let it alter her gaze. She focused through her goggles at the brute camps beneath. The sniper at her side did like wise and they continued to fire on any brutes that approached the stationary plasma turrets or wraith tanks.

But had she looked up she would have seen an awe inspiring sight. Through the clouds darted thirty pelicans and each with their engines maxed to full speed. They pressed hard toward the brute camps as missiles streaked from their wings. Explosions rocked around the front of the covenant camps, destroying a large segment of the camps heavy weapons. Enemy banshees and phantoms began to soar toward the human offensive of pelicans. Hundreds of them prepared to fire on the pelicans, but as they came within weapons range of the pelicans, seventy Skyhawk fighters appeared behind the pelicans. The small and nimble atmosphere fighter, soared through the mass of pelicans and fired into the drove of incoming banshees and phantoms. Both sides opened fire and smoke littered the sky. Skyhawks exploded, banshees smoldered and phantoms crumbled to the ground.

The explosions above Melanie's head forced her to look up as shrapnel quickly began to fall toward them. "Debris! Get clear, move toward the front line!" Melanie prayed her words were enough as the sniper at her side jumped up and ran down the sand dune. She quickly followed his lead. She looked to her left and right as she watched all of her snipers and spotters running toward the covenant camp only three hundred yards ahead. But her worst fear quickly began.

Purple streaks zoomed into her line of snipers as they ran down the hills. The debris crashed into the sand harmlessly behind them, but now they faced covenant snipers from inside the camp. Three marines dropped in a heart beat as more and more sniper fire ripped through them. She ran ahead, knowing that there was nothing else she could do. The sniper at her side gagged as a purple blur cut through his throat. He tumbled forward and dropped his sniper rifle. Melanie didn't break stride. She scooped up the rifle, and with all of her enhanced speed she darted ahead of the line of marines. She pulled up the rifle, gazed through the scope and pulled the trigger on anything that moved, but the sniper fire suddenly stopped. Plasma rounds continued to streak toward her, but the snipers had stopped firing. She thankfully tossed the thought aside and sprinted toward the camp.

- - - - - - - -

Gridolee and Simyaldee both knew that their moment of silence had ended. They gripped their dual energy swords and dashed toward the line of sniping jackals. The four swords exploded from their hilts and every brute and jackal nearby instantly realized what they had just heard. Two jackals were instantly decapitated. Two more jackals were impaled from behind. Chaos was ensuing around them, and the two elites marveled in it. Gridolee dived into a mass of jackals, letting his size and weight knock them to the ground. He then slashed the mass of them across the chest. He stood up and deactivated his camouflage, knowing that his position was no longer a secret. Three brutes glared at him and fired with their plasma rifles, Gridolee held his ground knowing that his Mirratord shields could easily withstand the plasma from three rifles. The brutes roared as they fired controlled shots at the large elite and growled in frustration when he wouldn't die, but they had no warning of the elite standing behind them.

Simyaldee impaled one of the brutes from behind. The creature frantically screamed in terror as he was lifted off the ground. The other brutes looked at him in horror as a thin glowing blade of energy sparked out of his chest. The blade was ripped free, and the brutes watched as their comrade tumbled to the ground. Simyaldee also powered down his camouflage and watched as the brutes panicked. They dropped their weapons and rampaged toward Simyaldee in typical brute fashion. Gridolee watched as the two brute stampeded toward the Mirratord second. He began to run toward Simyaldee, hoping to help, but Gridolee paused as he watched his leader prepare himself. Simyaldee was standing his ground, and placed one foot back. He lowered his left blade and angled his right across his chest.

"One strike." He yelled to the charging brutes, but he meant for Gridolee to hear it as well. The two brutes lunged and Simyaldee spun on his forward foot, stabbing the brute to his right through the neck. The brute to his left swung his mighty fist but missed, unable to keep up with Simyaldee's speed. But before he could turn around the brute's own head tumbled to the ground. Gridolee gasped at the speed and flawless reaction time of his leader. The Mirratord second had clearly earned his place as the head of the Mirratord. Gridolee stepped toward Simyaldee and his mouth gapped open in awe.

"Second, what move…"

Simyaldee quickly interrupted, "Not know. We still have a battle to win, and many traitors to kill."

- - - - - - - -

The first wave of pelicans approached the camps' edge, unhindered thanks to the skyhawk fighters that came to their aid, but Plasma fire spilled across the pelicans' hull from weapons fire inside the Covenant camp. Onboard alarms rang out as Juggernaut chocked up on the controls.

"Damn it, it's hot as hell down here! You're going to have to drop from a moving bird, Sarge. My pelican can't take much more of this!" Juggernaut shouted as he jostled from left to right. Hundreds of plasma rounds, from various hand held weapons, exploded around the ship and Eric patted Juggernaut on the shoulder.

"Take us down to ten feet, open the door and then get your birds out of here." Eric raced to the back of the Pelican and glanced at the weary eyes of the soldiers under him. "Ten foot jump, brace yourselves and roll when you hit the sand. We are under fire!" The rear of the pelican hummed as the ramp lowered and more pelicans could be seen following so close that Eric felt he could jump out and onto them. One of the pelicans took several shots into its engine and flames snapped at its wings. The pelican listed and tumbled as its wing clipped the sand below. It rolled in the sand as it exploded, scattering human bodies in all directions. The flames were so close that Eric felt them upon his face.

He pulled himself out of the daze and shouted, "Go! Go! Go!" He jumped from the pelican's ramp and his momentum carried him forward as he rolled. He sprang to his feet and leveled his battle rifle. He planted his rear foot, pulled down the visor to his helmet and sprinted forward as the other marines and soldiers dropped behind him.

Plasma rounds zoomed past his head, explosions erupted around his feet, but he pushed forward. Marines shouted in agony at his side and death was all around. Cries that would make any man crumble in fear as soldiers were mowed down by waves of plasma fire, but Eric pushed forward. His muscle strength and years of experience screamed for him to race ahead. He had to get within the Covenant ranks and cause as much trouble as he could, or else his whole line of marines would be cut down. He dodged sideways as a brute reared his head and leveled a brute shot. The grenades exploded around him, but he didn't falter. The brute went to reload and Eric sent a three round burst against the brutes helmet. The brute rocked backward, stunned as his helmet tumbled of his head, but then Eric sent another round through his unprotected skull. His path was unguarded, and Eric lowered his shoulder and crossed the trench into the first camp. He didn't want to look back and see if he had support, all he cared about was shutting down the brutes' encamped position. He pulled his combat knife from his back holster and carried it in his left hand loosely, as he steadied his battle rifle with his thumb.

He turned to his left and saw three Jackals. He pulled the trigger three times, three shots and then there were three dead jackals. They had yet to raise their shields, despite all the combat happening around them. A roar caught his ear, and he turned back to see a brute rampaging toward him. He jumped back and fired several rounds into the brute's head before it moaned a deathly sigh. A drone dropped on top of him from above, shrieking as its legs and arms clawed at his armor. Eric raised the combat knife into the thick skin of the creatures head and slapped the blade deeper into the drone. It shrieked and fell to the ground, twitching in pain. Eric took a knee and reloaded his rifle. The familiar bark of battle rifles filled his ear as looked around and saw several more marines and ODST pulling up to his side. Thankfully, some of his squad had survived the first charge.

The thunder of a raging brute cut through the roar of weapons fire and Eric regained his focus just as a brute began to fall upon him. Eric braced himself, knowing that his strength could not resist the might of the beast. A high pitched sound zoomed past his ear and Eric watched the brute fall backwards in disbelief. The sound was obvious; a sniper round. Eric exhaled as he finished slapping a fresh clip in the butt of the battle rifle.

Melanie sighed in relief that her shot was dead on. She sprinted forward, and stopped a few feet behind Eric and looked around the camp. Marines, jackals and brutes littered the area, firing and cursing at each other with full hatred. Several jackals were trying to flee the battle but were savagely mowed down by their brute commanders. A few drones hovered above, but were quickly shot down by random marines. A jackal leapt out from behind a plasma mortar and fired several shots at Melanie. She easily dodged and fired a round at it, but the sniper round pinged off the jackal's shield and it slowly stalked forward, firing at Melanie rapidly. She had to drop back and seek cover. She switched her sniper rifle to her left hand and pulled up her side arm with the right. She wanted to charge the bird like creature, but it had a lock on her. She fired a few round to surprise the jackal and give herself some time to find cover, but a plasma round seared across her shoulder. Her modified ODST armor super heated and the gel layer around her shoulder boiled away. A second shot from the jackal hit the same spot and this time the armor flash heated, and scorched into Melanie's shoulder. She screamed as she fell backwards into the sand.

From out of nowhere Mathew 08 sprinted toward the jackal and fired several battle rifle rounds at the jackal's shield. The creature shrieked and tried to fire back, but was terrified that the human was charging at it. Mathew kicked the shield and the Jackal stumbled backwards, dropping his shield enough that Mathew could get a clear shot. The jackal screamed as the battle riffle rounds entered his frail chest. It toppled lifeless into the blood stained sand. Mathew pushed on, firing at another target in the distance. He hadn't seen Melanie, only the jackal, and in true soldier fashion he fought on. Melanie staggered to her feet and reloaded her magnum. The pain in her arm and shoulder was excruciating and she struggled to ignore it. She peered around the camp and began to look for Eric.

Eric stood up and pointed three fingers to his left and right, without knowing who was behind him. Eric's instincts told him that he had more support then he thought, and sure enough dozens of marines had survived the initial charge. Several soldiers split to the right and left, falling into make shift squads, while a few men followed Eric deeper into the encampment.

They neared a new trench and it quickly seemed as if a hornets' nest had been shaken. Twenty or more drones sprang into the sky from the sandy trench beneath. Plasma rained over Eric and his small team of marines, and they instinctively returned fire. The high pitched squeaks and heavy hum of the drones' wings filled the air and everyone fired wildly. A heavy burn filled Eric's chest and he stumbled to his left for cover behind a stationary mortar cannon, several marines followed his lead while others continued to fire at the wild flying bugs. Several of the creatures fell to the ground, but more and more marines fell under the drones' constant plasma fire. Eric checked his rifle and leapt into the drones targets, hoping to draw most of their fire.

He pulled up and fired into the humming bugs, killing two quickly, but plasma rained on top of him yet again. He fired several more deadly rounds and killed several more drones quickly; the marines marveled at his aim. He staggered to the right and realized that his gamble had paid off; he was drawing all of the enemy fire. He continued to move and then saw that the bugs had turned there backs to the reaming, hidden, marines. The drones were annoying and fast, but not very smart. They became tired from the constant flying and landed just as the marines jumped out from their cover. At close range the marines suppressed the drones under Sub Machine Gun fire, each cursing and spitting upon the dead creatures corpses.

Melanie ran toward the commotion and saw the silhouetted image of ODST battle armor and walked closer. She stumbled behind him and was happy that she had found Eric. Melanie could always tell who Eric was, even with his armor on, buy the way he moved. She quickly pulled out a med kit and popped the seal on the right side of her armor.

Eric, still feeling the burn on his chest, turned to see that Melanie had joined his ranks and was bandaging a wound on her shoulder. He couldn't see the expression on her face because of her visor, but he knew that for such an amount of blood her wound had to be serious. Eric waved for the marines to push ahead, knowing that this zone of camps had been secured, and he stepped closer to Melanie. The marines raced ahead, checking the trench and killing any stragglers that had been left behind. They then ran into Simyaldee and Gridolee. The two groups stared at each other, pondering what to do. The alliance had been formed but hatred between the two species still brewed highly.

Simyaldee spoke, "The rear of the camp has been cleared. My forces are eliminating stragglers and will continue to patrol this area." The marines simply nodded and returned to scanning the camps.

Eric knelt over Melanie, "Fall back to the front line and get a medic to check it out." Eric whispered over a secure channel.

"No time. Sounds like the others need us toward the left flank." Melanie tied down a field wrap and dropped the empty sniper rifle she held. She picked up a fallen marine's battle rifle and slapped in a fresh magazine.

Melanie didn't have to say anything else because Eric knew it was pointless to argue with her at that point, "Form up on me. We're going to press the left flank." Eric shouted. Four marines in ear shot quickly raced over and joined Melanie and Eric as they jogged toward the heavy weapons fire to the left of the camp. The closer they came, the easier it was to see how dyer the situation was. A lone wraith tank was suppressing the marine forces and several ghosts were speeding into the zone.

Eric and Melanie took aim and fired on the ghosts, as the wraith dropped plasma mortar on top of them. They quickly took cover but two of the four marines didn't get clear in time. Their screams echoed around them as the superheated plasma melted away their bodies. The other two marines took cover behind a small hill of sand and prayed that the brutes weren't able to lob mortar on them.

Eric peeked around the smoldering tank that he, Melanie and a flock of marines were hiding behind. He could see more tanks and ghosts speeding toward them from another camp emplacement in the distance. The gig was up. The covenant finally caught on to their attack and support was on the way. Eric quickly surmised that if the camp to their left was sending reinforcements than the right camp would do the same. They were about to be surrounded.

He opened his com line and yelled, "Rolling thunder! I repeat. Rolling thunder!"

From over the sand dunes that once served as Melanie's recon position, came a thunder of roaring human engines. Five gauss hogs ramped over the dune and sped down the hill, they immediately raced toward the lone wraith and the ghosts. But then another wave of human vehicles crept slowly over the hill in the form of five scorpion tanks. But it didn't stop there as ten pelicans dropped in from overhead and prepared to deploy a payload of marines into the camp.

The skyhawks above made quick work of the banshee and phantom supports, but covenant seraph fighters were quickly screaming into the area. A more intense air battle was underway, as the region slowly became a war zone.

The pelicans hovered over the front line that Eric and his first wave cleared, and began to lower their troops into the sand. The last of the support troops to exit the pelican made a massive impression as all eyes gazed upon her new Mark VI armor. Kelly stood tall and gripped her Jackhammer tightly as she turned toward the right flank, her new armor had not yet been fully explored but she could already feel the improvements with every step she made. Two scorpion MBTs followed her along with two warthogs and they formed a defensive line against the oncoming covenant support wave. Ghosts, wraiths, specters, and foot soldiers began marching toward them, but Kelly took aim on the most threatening object following the pack, a four legged scarab.

"Chief, that scarab is less then a mile away!" A marine driver in his warthog screamed. "We don't have enough firepower to take it down!"

"We have our orders to hold this zone until the Master Chief gets here, so hold fast!" Kelly roared back as she let the magnetic hold on her back grip the Jackhammer Rocket launcher. She pulled down her BR55 battle riffle and checked the clip. Slapping it into the battle rifle's butt stock generated a quick change in her heads up display. The BR55 appeared with a full ammo count, including the spares in her hip carrier. Impressive was not the word she wanted to say, but none the less she said it. She twisted to her side several times in an attempt to shake off the Jackhammer mounted to her back, but it held firm. A smile grinned across her face as she flagged down a nearby Warthog.

Two warthogs raced as their gunners fired into the mass of oncoming ghosts, while the scorpions let loose from a distance. Smoke erupted from the blue flames of smoldering wraith tanks that had been completely caught of guard, but the looming presence of the scarab still presented a problem. Leading the charge of warthogs was Rose, and she was driving hard and reckless. With a gunner on her gauss canon turret, and a marine sharp shooter in her passenger seat, they sped between the advancing ghosts and circled them. The more maneuverable ghosts were easily taken down by the heavy fire of the warthogs' gauss cannons, but Rose spotted Kelly waving toward her and she sped back toward the line of scorpion tanks.

Kelly raced to the passenger seat and opened her com, "Sergeant, there is a scarab headed our way from the right flank. I'm off to slow it down."

Eric replied over the com, "Stay sharp. That new armor doesn't make you invincible. I'd tag along, but we have six wraiths beating down on us from the left flank. Take that scarab down and get back here. The Master Chief and his support will arrive in twenty minutes."

"Roger that." The marine in Rose's passenger seat hopped out and Kelly jumped in, surprised to see Rose behind the wheel. "Santos?"

"Where you headed, chief?" Rose sharply questioned. Kelly was apprehensive about letting Rose drive, knowing that she was only a civilian, but the nearest warthog was still jousting with several ghosts.

"See that big metal bug? Get me there." Kelly pointed to the towering four legged land walker in the distance and the Warthog jerked forward. All four wheels kicked sand into the air as the warthog prowled through smoldering wreckage of ghosts, wraiths and the unfortunate warthog that was outnumbered. Two ghosts hummed from a clearing and accelerated toward them. The marine turret gunner took aim.

"Keep her steady, babe!" Marks shouted. Rose was startled to hear his voice, but returned her attention to the oncoming ghosts. It felt like an eternity since she had last heard or seen Marks. The gauss cannon spat its payload in successive fashion and sent one of the ghosts tumbling forward. The brute pilot rolled in the sand and then leapt on top of the warthog. Kelly ripped her battle rifle's butt across the brute's chest and then grazed it across his head. The stunned brute gripped Kelly by the helmet and they began to tussle. Rose could barely see past the brute's hairy legs as it roared aggressively toward the Spartan. Kelly pressed her left hand against the brute's neck and the creature screamed from the intense pressure. It slammed its fist onto Kelly's arm, knocking her death grip away. Marks kicked at the beast, but the brute ignored him completely.

"I will kill you, demon." The monstrous beast bellowed. In the tussle, Kelly dropped her rifle and it tumbled between the seats. Marks struggled to pull his sidearm out, but he watched as Rose quickly pulled up her magnum sidearm.

She placed the gun to the brute's temple, "Get out of my car." The magnum popped, and the massive ball of fur and muscle tumbled lifeless into Kelly's lap. She rolled the body out of the side and it skipped in the sand. "Marks, the second ghost is on our tail."

"On it." The gauss cannon spun and Marks began to unload on the chasing ghost as the warthog sped ahead. Kelly reached down and grabbed her battle rifle. She was slightly impressed with Rose's calm confidence during the situation, but then noticed that Rose's hand was trembling slightly. Perhaps she wasn't as calm as she was letting on.

- - - - - - - -

Wesley dived into the sand at Melanie and Eric's feet. He fumbled with his riffle and primed a grenade. He chucked it over his head toward the oncoming ghosts and was satisfied when the ghost tumbled sideways. Eric then leveled his riffle and fired upon the brute pilot.

Once the brute was dead, Eric turned to Wesley, "You wounded?"

"No sir." Wesley nervously replied.

"Good. Get back to the scorpions and tell them to pull up to our position. I've got longswords inbound to drop some artillery into the area." Eric then placed his hand to his helmet. "Say again?"

Eric's helmet speaker buzzed, "I repeat, Sergeant. Longswords are being intercepted by seraph squadrons. They can not break through. You are on your own."

"Roger." Eric fumed as he changed frequencies. "Captain Monroe, copy?"

"I read you sergeant. Looks like you all have a lot of heat coming your way." Monroe stated as an explosion sounded in her background.

"Sounds like you're under fire." Eric huffed.

"A seraph mistakenly ran into us and gave away our position. His squadron was quick to relay our position. They've been taking shots at us for the last three minutes. Skyhawks are giving us some cover, but we're taking a pretty good beating."

Eric sighed in frustration, "I guess that means you can't send out a few pelicans?"

"Sorry sergeant. We open our landing bay and they will attack anything that comes out."

"Thought so. Hold your own Captain. I'll work with what I've got."

"Stay alive, Sergeant." Monroe cautiously commented. Her tone was bleak, and Eric could tell that the situation was more extreme then she was letting on. "This war needs you."

A shout came across the speaker and Eric instantly realized that it was one of Captain Monroe's command officers. "We've been boarded."

Captain Monroe quickly shouted, "All hands, prepare to repel boarders. I say again, prepare…" The com died. Eric gazed through his visor and his head sunk lower. The covenant was causing severe damage to his lines, they had thousands of support troops on the way and they had officially cut him off from the Rogue Fantasy. He then thought about Rose. Was she going to be alright aboard the ship? He hadn't seen her and hoped that she was still on the ship, but now that the Rogue Fantasy was under fire and being boarded, he quickly became concerned for her safety.

He gazed at Wesley. "Get those tanks up here, now!"

"Right." Wesley jumped up and ran toward the line of scorpion tanks that were sitting on the sand dune. Plasma rounds flared toward Wesley, and Eric jumped up to provide him with cover fire. At his side, Melanie was struggling to hold up her rifle as more and more blood began to soak through her armor.

"Eric…" Melanie moaned as she sat down at Eric's side. The constant bark of rifle fire sounded around them as more and more Marines raced to Eric's side. Eric ducked down and took cover as he began to reload.

He slapped in a fresh magazine and gazed at Melanie's shoulder, "Medic!" Eric grabbed Melanie and pulled her away from the defensive position. A troop transport warthog rolled close and Eric picked Melanie up and dropped her in the back of it. Three medics were in the back and two of them jumped out and began to search for other wounded marines. The other medic pulled off Melanie's chest armor and helmet. A mortar blast erupted a few feet from the warthog and Eric realized he had to pull the hog out. More wounded marines were staggering into the warthog as Eric ran to the driver.

"Pull back to the original Recon LZ and tell the Medic's to setup a medical camp there. Make one trip every five minutes and pull out as many wounded as you can."

"Yes, sir!" The driver waved for the remaining wounded to climb in as the mortar explosions came closer and closer. "Come on! Get in!" The last marine climbed in and the hog's four wheels spun feverishly as the transport raced back toward the sand dune ridge line. Eric could only watch as Melanie and the other wounded were pulled out to safety. But it could only remain safe if he could hold the zone until the Master Chief showed up. Wesley and three scorpions were rolling toward him and Eric jumped onto the side. He pointed toward the wall of wraiths and each scorpion fired their massive shells into the distance. The sand beneath the scorpion bounced from the shockwave of the cannons power. One wraith exploded on impact and then the other wraiths turned and fired on the approaching human tanks.

- - - - - - - -

A focused beam of highly volatile plasma burned past Rose's warthog, and she steered clear of the scarab's main weapon. The sand where the plasma beam impacted began to boil and everyone realized that one shot was enough to kill them. Six ghosts were chasing them but they kept a respectable distance thanks to Marks' gauss cannon. Kelly peered ahead at the towering walking covenant weapon and instantly realized that the armor on the Scarab was tough. It would take more then her Jackhammers to bring it down. She wanted to see if there was anything she could use against the scarab and the armor responded to the thought. Her visor zoomed in on the area she was looking at and she wowed in excitement.

"Built in goggles!" She mumbled in excitement. Beyond the scarab was a row of banshees. They were most likely grounded because of the skyhawk fighters that loomed overhead; easy prey for the UNSC Air Force pilots. "Rose, keep going toward that camp in the distance."

"The camp?" Rose screamed in protest.

"Don't worry. Once we get close enough, I'll bail out and you two get back to the Target Zone. I'll be fine."

The warthog raced beneath the towering scarab and one of its legs stomped the ground just as the warthog zoomed by. The hog hopped slightly, barely avoiding being stepped on. The rear mounted plasma shade on the scarab began to fire wildly at the warthog, but Rose steered clear thanks to Marks' warning. His curses filled the air and Rose spotted the incoming plasma waves in the rearview mirror. She swerved and accelerated clear of the weapon. The Scarab pressed forward and ignored the three humans, as the ghosts continued to give chase.

Ahead of them, several brutes raced out from shelter and began firing at the oncoming human vehicle. Kelly hefted the Jackhammer from her back and sent one round toward the group of brutes. The plume of sand and fur was a pleasant sight and only a few lucky brutes survived. Once the dust settled Kelly watched as a small wave of jackals raced to the brutes' aid. Their shields glowed brightly as they made a defensive wall between the brutes and the charging humans. Kelly reloaded another rocket into the jackhammer, and reattached it to her back. She then smirked at the brute's stupidity and courage. The brutes and jackals were eagerly awaiting the three humans, but they were waiting several yards behind the first row of banshees.

"Turn back to the target zone, I'll handle it from here!" Kelly jumped from the speeding warthog and her half ton of armor thumped into the soft sand below. Rose turned the hog around, using the emergency break to make a quick turn and floored the hog back toward the scarab.

"Hey babe, you don't have to pass the scarab again! Take a wider route!" Marks shouted as he fired the gauss cannon toward the brutes and jackals. He wanted to give Kelly as much cover fire as he could.

"I'm not letting her tackle that thing alone!" Rose shouted in return. She had no idea of what Kelly was planning to do, but all she could do was stall and wait. "Now focus on those incoming ghosts!" Marks turned the cannon about and fired at the ghosts that were chasing them, but were now directly ahead.

Kelly raced forward as the last blast from the gauss cannon sailed overhead. Marks' assistance was greatly appreciated and the jackal's defensive line was thoroughly eliminated. Kelly tossed a frag grenade for good measure and watched as the pile of dead brutes and jackals were torn to shreds. She slipped into the banshee and powered it up. The hum of the engines cascaded as the overhead unit closed on top of her. She slipped her hand into the control reticule and throttled the alien craft into the air. She twisted the accelerator and streaked toward the scarab.

Rose turned hard as another ghost washed its plasma across the hood of the hog. Marks was having a hard time adjusting his sight to Rose's wild driving, but he managed to shoot down two ghosts. Another ghost cut off their path and Rose made another sharp turn. The spinning tires tossed sand into the air and nearly blinded the charging brute in his ghost. He wiped away the sand that burned his eyes and felt the tremendous pressure of the gauss cannon slamming into his side. Another shot tore off his torso and the ghost powered down; crashing into the sand. Rose jumped a small sand dune and then found herself beneath the scarab as a banshee soared overhead. Oddly enough the scarab's shade gunners were madly shooting at the covenant craft. It didn't take much time for her to realize that Kelly had taken the banshee to board the scarab.

"She's nuts!" Marks shouted; realizing that the Spartan was going to board the covenant scarab.

"Yeah, and unless she dies, we aren't leaving her." Rose yelled as she frantically steered the vehicle to avoid the oncoming ghosts. Marks took aim and continued firing.

Kelly banked and rolled as the scarab's top and rear mounted shade turrets fired at her. She barrel rolled and fired a plasma torpedo at the top turret, destroying it with one shot. She then hovered over the main top deck of the scarab and jumped out of the banshee. With a hard thud she landed and planted her hand to hold her balance on top of the rocking mechanical beast. Her motion tracker instantly buzzed to life as covenant forces spilled out of the control room and onto the main deck beneath her. She had one advantage; she had the upper position and a choke point. She turned and raised her battle rifle as a brute raced up the small ramp toward her. The choke point was narrow and only one enemy could charge at a time, and unfortunately the brute was unaware as to whom he was dealing with.

The brute's eyes grew wide as he gazed at the demon, "The demon is here!" He roared, but no other words escaped his jaws as Kelly sent a three round burst down his throat and out the back of his skull. The ball of fur rolled backwards as the other brutes watched him slam onto the deck below. They all roared in anger but knew that charging the human would result in the same manner.

Kelly watched her motion tracker closely and saw that they were all huddled together and directly beneath her. She had to take the shot. She unlocked the Jackhammer on her back, raced toward the back of the scarab, ran down the choke point, turned the corner that opened up to the main deck and pulled the trigger on the rocket launcher. A short wave of plasma washed over her shields as a satisfying thud and rumble filled the air. Jackal, drone, and brute bodies were sent in all directions. Kelly lowered herself to a knee as her shield quickly recharged. She took aim at the door to the control room and waited for another wave of enemies to attack. Her tracker showed four red dots running up the short ramp toward her and she fired into the door. The dots quickly stopped. Kelly reloaded the jackhammer and mounted it to her back. She then picked up an M90 shotgun she found on the deck, apparently in the possession of one of the dead brutes.

Kelly slowly crept into the dark control room and turned to the left side at the base of the ramp. She looked throughout, searching for the pilot and any other resistance. A sudden blip on her tracker confirmed that at least one hostile remained. She leveled the shotgun and tossed her last frag grenade toward the location of the blip. A brute jumped clear of the grenade and it exploded near the control panel. Sparks shot across the room as the brute stood tall and began to beat his chest with his fist. The scarab lurched to a halt and they both staggered slightly, but Kelly never let the brute out of her sights.

"Face me demon! I shall be rewarded greatly for your death!" The brute rampaged and raced toward the Spartan on all fours. He was snarling and roaring with wartime frenzy. Kelly pulled the trigger and the M90 blasted its rounds into the brute's thick hide, but he continued to charge and Kelly knew she didn't have a chance to pump another round into the chamber. She side stepped, but the narrow path only gave her so much room to maneuver. The brute swung his fist in rage and missed, but his shoulder collided with Kelly and they both tumbled to the floor. Kelly's shields dropped to half power, showing her how strong the brute was, and she rolled to her feet. The brute was also standing and Kelly lowered the butt of the M90 on the brutes jaw, spinning his head to the left. The brute raised his arm and swatted Kelly across the chest, knocking her off her feet and into the opposing wall. She grunted from the sudden jolt and raised her shotgun as the brute charged at her again. She pulled the trigger and the brute crumbled backwards. His head was nearly taken off by the shotgun's power, and his purple blood scattered across the room.

Kelly dropped to her knees and held her chest, because the brute's last swing had taken down her shields completely. The punch felt as though her chest had caved in. She stood up and coughed up a wad of blood into her mouth guard as the vacuum sucked it out of her mouth automatically. The vent on the front of her helmet ejected the fluid and spat the mucus filled blood on to the scarab's control room deck. The pain slowly faded away as the Mark VI armor injected her with a mild solution to relieve the pain. She slowly stood and walked toward the control panel. On the screen she could see Rose and Marks racing beneath the scarab, and dodging the plasma weapons off several ghosts. Kelly scanned the controls and began to move the scarab about. She then found something similar to a weapons control. She angled the scarab's head and waited for the ghosts to come in range. With one quick push of a button the scarab fired into the mass of ghosts and melted them. Only the charred hulls of the ghosts remained. Secondary explosions followed and Kelly exhaled, confident that she could take a slight break.

Rose spun the hog and watched the group of ghost flutter as their power cores erupted. She looked up at the scarab and waited to see what it would do next. It slowly began to lower itself closer to the ground. The belly of the monstrous machine softly touched the sand and Kelly jumped off the back of it. She landed and then walked toward the warthog.

"Good job chief!" Marks shouted from the gauss canon.

"We're not done yet." Kelly replied. "Santos, I'm out of com range for the Sarge. You report back and tell him that we've captured a scarab. Marine, you're with me. I'll need help operating the turrets on this thing." Marks jumped from the back of the hog and ran toward the scarab. He began to climb up the side toward the top deck as Kelly continued to talk to Rose. "We'll take it back to the Target Zone and use it to help lock down the area. Tell the sergeant that we'll be there soon."

"Yes sir." Rose smiled. She watched as Kelly jogged back to the scarab and climbed up the side toward the top. Rose then noticed that more ghosts were approaching from the enemy camps. "Chief, more ghosts!" Kelly turned and spotted the support ghost and climbed to the top.

"Get going! We'll be okay!" Kelly shouted back to Rose. Rose hesitated but quickly sped away. She felt a small sense of exhilaration knowing that she had done something useful. She helped their forces capture a weapon that would easily tilt the balance in this battle, and perhaps the battles to come. She raced across the sand and watched as three Scorpions fired toward the left flank, where Eric and his troops were holding firm. She pulled up the two scorpion tanks that were quickly taking aim at the scarab and waved at them.

"Hold your fire!" She shouted to the operators. "We have control of the scarab! The Spartan took it down and is bringing it in for our support!" The marines nearby all jumped for joy as they cheered at the exciting news. "Take out the ghosts under the scarab's feet!" The scorpions quickly altered their aims and began firing on the massing ghosts buzzing around the scarab. Rose accelerated into the target zone and pulled up behind Eric's tank line as they fired on wraiths in the distance. She sprang from the warthog and raced toward Eric's position eager to share the news with him.

"Snipers on the ridge!" A marine shouted as purple streaks began buzzing through the camp of human soldiers. Eric dropped to his knees and a sniper round pinged off the scorpion he was standing near.

"There!" Eric pointed to the hilly sand dunes between the target zone and the covenant's approaching left flank. "Three targets." The tanks turned and pulverized the region where the sniping jackals lay. Sand exploded all around them and their screams were suddenly snuffed. The tanks ceased fire and the sand settled revealing several dead and charred jackal forms.

Rose jumped lifted her head after instinctively diving into the sand. She looked around and noticed that the snipers had stopped firing. She then saw an ODST in sand camouflage stagger forward and crumble to the ground. Wesley suddenly appeared at the man's side, and Rose feared the worst. The man was obviously a Black Ops.

"Medics!" Several marines throughout the camp shouted. The three snipers had done a fare share of damage and several marines lay dead or dieing. Eric turned and looked to the nearby marine at his feet. The man had a fused hole through his chest and was clearly dead. The marine was only three feet away when he died and a thought told Eric that it could have easily been him.

He turned back to the tanks, "Resume fire on that camp." The tanks raised their barrels and fired several rounds into the air. The shells soared across the region and into the camp nearly a mile away.

"Sergeant Raynord, this is Cortana, do you copy." The static burst filled Eric's ears and he smiled knowing that reinforcements had finally arrived.

"Copy Cortana. The Target Zone is secure, you're clear to bring in the assault teams." Eric stepped away from the line of tanks and began to look around.

"Excellent Sergeant. The Chief and I will debrief you when we land. Our operation will need to commence immediately. Sergeant Johnson and his team have already prepped the advanced recon squad and they are dropping into Camp Eden from orbit. We'll go into more detail when we arrive." The com faded and Eric looked around the camp at the other bodies nearby. He then noticed that Wesley was hovering over a fallen Marine.

Wesley looked back at Eric and pondered what to do. He cradled the Black Operations soldier's head in his arms, as blood poured from his helmet. A female marine joined Wesley and huddled over the fallen soldier. The sniper round had fused the wound but struck a major artery in his chest and was causing his lungs to fill with blood.

"Medic!" Wesley continued to scream. Eric watched as the female marine sat beside the wounded soldier and pulled his helmet off with mournful eyes. She was horrified but relieved when she saw Roy's face. Eric walked toward the group and realized that it was Rose holding his helmet. He was shocked to see her, hopping that she would have stayed on the Rogue Fantasy.

Eric stopped at Wesley's side and glared down at the Black Op he was holding. Pain was etched across his face and he slowly rolled his eyes to look at Eric. Mathew suddenly appeared and raced to Eric's side, scouting for any other snipers and making sure that the Sergeant wasn't killed on the battle field. He also peeked toward the fallen soldier and looked into Roy's face. Shock quickly flashed across his mind and Mathew could only lower his head in grief.

Blood gargled from Roy's mouth as he reached out toward Eric. Eric dropped to his knees as a mortar round thudded a few yards away. He grabbed Roy's hand and felt his life fade away. His arm slumped to the ground and Eric heard a soft sob coming from Rose. She saw the number '19' written on his hip guard and she glared at him.

"Sarge, we took down the scarab… the chief, she's piloting it. I… I helped." Rose stuttered, struggling to contain her shock as she looked back into Roy's face.

Wesley yelled out again, "God damn it, Medic!"

"He's gone." Eric sighed. He reached down and snatched the dog tags from Roy's collar. "Private Williams, get to the tank lines and monitor the suppression fire, and keep me posted. 08, monitor the right flank and give the chief as much support as she needs."

Wesley reluctantly pulled away and ran toward the left flank. Mathew placed a hand on Roy's chest, then lowered his head quickly and ran toward the right flank. Eric took the helmet from Rose and put it on Roy's head. He then took off his own helmet and sighed at Rose; she suddenly lost control.

"I… I thought it was you." She sobbed uncontrollably. She flung her arms around Eric and held him tight. She didn't want to let him go; squeezing him tighter with ever breathe.

"What are you doing out here?" Eric softly questioned. "I was looking for you everywhere."

Rose was finally gaining control of herself, "I didn't want you to find me. I wanted to fight, and I know you would have made me stay behind." Eric huffed and smiled softly at Rose. He wanted to talk to her, but the constant explosion and random plasma bolts quickly switched him back into a military mentality. Something was coming, he could feel it.

He slipped on his helmet, "Alright Santos, you want to fight?" Eric turned to the left flank and watched as numerous ghosts sped toward them. The tanks were taking out some of them, but their numbers were great. Behind them were dozens of specters and a full battalion of charging brutes, jackals, and drones. And through the thick cloud of sand he could see several wraiths setting up to fire. "Pick up your weapon and follow me. Stay behind me at all times. There's nowhere to go now."

"Incoming!" Wesley shouted to the camp of marines, ODST and Mirratord warriors. Eric and Rose ran to Wesley's side and peered over the horizon. Hundreds of troops had massed and they were making a desperation charge. The covenant was determined to take back the ground they had lost and they were doing it in full force.

Simyaldee stood at Eric's side and peered into the charging fray. "Focus your tank fire on the wraiths."

"Yeah, I know. Otherwise we'll have plasma raining on our heads. And that's exactly what the want us to do." Eric huffed as he clinched his jaw.

"Need an extra gun?" Melanie stated over the com as she raced toward Eric. Her arm was barely in a sling, but she was still able to heft a battle rifle. She slumped over beside Rose and the two of them sprawled out in the sand. They both took aim with battle riffles and gazed down the barrel.

"Stay at Rose's side and keep your heads down." Eric stood tall and stepped on the side of the nearest tank, "Tanks, continue firing at the wraiths in the distance! Marines and ODST form a line along this bank! We have to hold this position!" The mass of covenant troops stormed toward their encampment and a cloud of sand filled the air behind them as they drew ever closer. "Jackhammers, to the front! Mirratord, spread out along the line and prepare for hand to hand combat." Palab positioned his grunts along the human line as he took position at the farthest point of the line. Simyaldee and Gridolee did the same. Simyaldee stayed at Eric's side will Gridolee moved closer to the middle of the formation.

The line of UNSC and Mirratord forces stretched along the entire left flank as three tanks were spread out amongst them; firing at the wraith tanks behind the charging covenant forces now only four hundred yards away. The closer the covenant came the louder the ground rumbled.

"08, what's the status on the right flank?" Eric questioned into his com.

A static sound the reply, "The scarab is under heavy fire, but holding its own. We're doing what we can to give the Spartan support."

Eric knew that there would be no way to escape if this operation failed, "Hold your own 08. We've got a battalion charging from the left. All my forces are focused on them, so if the scarab falls we only have you guarding our back."

"Stay frosty, Sarge."

"You to, 08." The com died and Eric estimated that the charging brutes were now only two hundred yards away. He looked down at Rose and she was calmly staring down the barrel. He looked up and shouted, "Rocket boys, lock on to the ghosts… " he paused, letting the front line of ghosts come a little closer.

"…Fire!" Eric screamed to his forces.

"Fire!" Gridolee shouted to the group closest to him.

"Fire!" Palab barked to the group nearest him.

Waves of human Jackhammer rockets and covenant plasma weapons crisscrossed, and each of the deadly arsenals impacted along each of the forces front line.

A static burst filled Eric ears as he took cover from the plasma rounds that shot past him. "Sergeant Raynord, this is Cortana. The chief and I are here. Looks like you could use some assistance."

_**To be continued….**_


	27. Spartans, Form Up!

**Stage 27: Spartans, Form Up!**

The New Age: Humanities Plight  
Two Years after Halo Activations

The small town of humans tilled the soil and fed their herds early in the morning hours of yet another wonderful day. Food was plentiful thanks to the herds and crops that had been planted in the fresh soils. Life was hard, but life was free and no one knew this more then Litran and Bitran. Litran cautiously walked the town, speaking to the other women that traded food for supplies. She glowed happily as she carried her second unborn child, now in her sixth month of pregnancy. At her side walked her newest friend, and fan, Evelyn.

Evelyn was one of the first clones born using the Ark yet even at the age of twenty seven she had no memories of life before, only basic functions of day to day living. Evelyn happily carried the one year old child of Litran in her arms, a baby reminiscent of her mother in every way. The child's name was Lilith, the first human born upon the Earth.

Across the small town of only a dozen humans, Bitran happily sheered off the wool of a large four legged herbivore. The animal's dark tan wool would provide warm clothes during the winter months, and the creature would grow it back in a few days. Bitran finished cutting away the wool and tossed the mass of it to a nearby man assisting him. Bitran untied the animal's long legs and stepped back as it sprang to its feet. The animal raced back toward the herd and began to graze upon the tall grass, unaffected by Bitran's actions.

"Amazing how you held down that great beast all alone. You surely are a man of great strength, Bitran." The dark toned man commented as he heaved the heavy ball of wool onto a wagon. Bitran simply smiled and looped the rope around his shoulder, ignoring the comment toward his reclaimer strength. "This lot will bring us a fine collection, Bitran."

"No, not this lot. Winter is coming, and I've stocked up on plenty of supplies." Bitran picked up a large canteen of water and drank a small whisk, tossing his assistant a share as well.

"You are right." The man added. "The days grow short, even though I've never seen a winter, I know this is a sign of what is to come. But beyond that, do you believe that your wife will share another wonderful story tonight?"

"I'm sure she will be delighted to share another tale at tonight's gathering." Bitran smiled awkwardly. He brushed back his untamed hair and motioned to walk back to his hut. Litran's stories were generally translated into heroic tales of forgotten ages, and seen only as myth or lore. But Bitran knew them for what they really were, watered down tales of her battles and encounters.

Nightfall came, and like every night, the humans of the small town gathered at the central hut of Litran and Bitran. The women cooked and the men relaxed from their long hard days on the field, or hunting the nights prey. A wild beast cooked over the flame while water was passed about to and fro. It was a merry time for the small group of humans numbering only fifteen; eight women and seven men. It was an odd number but Lilith's birth made it so. Amongst the couples there were two women that were pregnant and due to give birth at any time; aside from Litran. Bitran and Litran's hopes were high that one of the two mothers carried a male child, Lilith would need a mate and the hopes of continuing their species rested on the next generation, as the forerunners had told them to not use the Ark's cloning facilities in vain. They wanted life to occur naturally, and for the blood line of the reclaimers to thin. Humanity was destined to grow on its own, and the legacy of the forerunners to be forgotten.

Evelyn gripped the knife and pulled it away from Litran, "go sit with your husband. A woman of your size needs to be resting. Else that baby fall from your loins." Several of the women laughed at this comment and Litran smiled in shame. She was so accustomed to helping with the dinner that she never paid it much mind that she could occasionally rest, but with her added strength and massive size she was barely concerned with the child inside of her. She walked from the smoky cooking area of the hut and walked toward Bitran and the other men.

In Bitran's arms sat his pride and joy, Lilith. He held her closely, while talking to the men at his side. Litran reached over and took Lilith from his arms. Bitran smiled as Litran lifted the tiny child from his arms and he kissed his mate lovingly.

"How about a story from Litran while we wait for dinner?" A nearby male shouted as he passed out newly sharpened stone knives to the other men. Everyone cheered and gazed to the elder female of the town while she held Lilith playfully. The women on the far side of the hut also agreed.

"Very well." Litran sighed. "I guess I shall tell the story of how God gave us this world." Litran knew that for the safety of everyone she dared not talk of the forerunners, the Empire or the other worlds that would be created using the Seed ship. Her story consisted of legendary folklore, fabricated truths and white lies. She even mentioned the coming of a great flood that nearly destroyed all life, but the Gods stopped the flood from destroying them with a might Ark that whisked life away. Bitran marveled at how closely Litran derived the story from their actual history. Everyone gleefully listened while they ate the meat and vegetables of dinner, and gave a cheer at its conclusion, offering up thanks and praise to the Gods.

The night grew old, and with everyone's stomach filled the men and women paired off and returned to their own huts. Bitran cleaned the gathering room and tossed the scraps to the piglets on the edge of town. He walked in and watched as Litran feed Lilith.

"Several of the others are going to explore the western region in the morning." Bitran sighed as he sat on a pile of furs. "At this rate they will find the ship's hiding spot. I told them I will not venture with them, but I will have to take another two day journey and hide the Ark again."

"Why don't we tell them?" Litran sighed in return. "We've been keeping this secret for so long. Let's tell them about the Ark, how they were born and where we came from. Evelyn is already questioning my strength and stamina. She and the others do not carry our super gene, they are noticing our abilities."

"If we tell them then they may want to fly into space, or see the stars up close. What if we run into the Law Keepers or worse, the flood?"

"Still, the others are asking questions that are becoming harder and harder to answer." Litran moaned. "The couple across from us, when they became sick we healed them with the medicines aboard the Ark. It was a miraculous thing to everyone. How can we keep such secrets?"

"Soon I'll find the perfect location to hide the Ark, it will be forgotten and we will teach everyone how to heal simple sickness and injuries. The Ark's medical supplies will not last much longer. We will forget, we must forget." Litran and Lilith sat at Bitran's side. He wrapped his arms around the two loves of his life and the family drifted off to sleep.

The next day began early for Bitran and after six hours of walking through the high untamed grasslands, Bitran arrived at the deep cavern wall where the Ark lay. It was a few hours before mid day, and the sun was beating down on him. Even in the late fall the sun would swelter the region in its glare, but the nights were dreadfully cold. He stumbled on the loose rocks of the jagged cliff's edge and peered into its depths. The cliff was several hundred feet to the bottom, but Bitran knew that he would only need to descend a few feet, as he glared at the top of the Ark.

The Ark sat silently as birds nested upon its hull. Bitran marveled at its size and dropped his bag of supplies. He pulled a canteen of water, made from tightly sawn animal hide, out of the bag. He pulled the cork from it and began to drink when he heard an unnerving sound; voices in the distant. He nearly spat the water from his jowls as he scampered to find a hiding place. Picking up his bag, Bitran dashed toward the cliff's ledge and climbed down; hiding himself under a rock outcropping. He pressed himself firmly against the edge and paused, hoping that no one saw him or heard him.

"We've been walking for hours." One of the voices stated. Bitran recognized the man's voice. He was one of the four men that were going to go exploring. How had they come so far so fast?

Another of the men replied, "Stop complaining. Would you feel better turning back? And just what would we tell the others we found?"

"Look at this! It's a massive trench. How are we going to cross it?"

"Like I said, we've walked too far. We can't cross this channel…" All the men peered down into the depths and each were shocked at what they saw. The shiny grey hull of the Ark lay before them, peering back at them with secrets they could never comprehend. Bitran sighed, knowing that he had failed to keep the ship secret, but he continued to listen to the men's voices.

"That doesn't look natural."

"What is it?"

"It looks like one of the great chariots that Litran mentioned in her stories."

"Could it be a chariot of the Gods?" The men became silent for a moment as Bitran continued to listen. Litran's stories had a greater impact upon them then Bitran had first thought.

"We shouldn't be here! What if the Gods grow angry and cast their wrath upon us?"

"Litran's stories are true! The Gods will punish us for seeing this."

"Be calm, all of you." Another of the men shouted. "If this is a great chariot of the Gods, then surely they have great treasures inside. Treasures that will make our lives better and much easier to live. Perhaps the Gods wanted us to find it."

"Let us go back to the town. We will get others to come and help go inside of it."

"Two shall stay, the rest will return. It will be a full day's journey before we can come back." Bitran heard the rustling of feet and then suddenly he knew what he had to do. He shouldered his bag, and quietly climbed down to the ark.

Nearly an hour passed as the two men continued to marvel at the shiny hull of the Ark. They sat at the cliff's edge and peered downward in an awestruck silence.

"Perhaps we should give the Gods praise, less they come at us with anger and wrath."

"The Gods will not be angry at us. We are merely watching. We will say a prayer before we enter the chariot tomorrow."

"What-what is that?" Below, the men watched as a purple light shined upon the top of the Ark. It was very far away but they could see its glow clearly. A circular door parted and a human figure appeared. "It is a man. A man came from within the chariot."

"No… that is not a man! I have not seen a man such as that. He must be a God!" The two men watched as the mysterious figure jumped from point to point toward them. He crossed the massive expanse of the ship and began to jump up the cliff wall with ease. From several different outcroppings the men could see the figure jumping up toward them; swiftly and with ease.

"It is coming!" The men pushed away from the cliff's edge and crawled backwards, sliding across the grass in fear. The figure shot upward from the cliff and landed with a loud rumble before them. They gazed at his face in terror because all they could see was their own reflection. To them, it was as if they were looking into their own eyes. Fear consumed them and they began to cower. The figure stood much taller then they did, nearly seven feet tall. His body was coated in steel and was dark as the evening sky, yet his eyes face glowed gold and mirrored the world around it. Each step he took toward them sent a chill down their spines.

"Forgive us! Forgive us!" The men screamed as they bowed before the armored figure. "We did not mean to disturb the chariot!"

A muffled voice escaped from the figure, but the sound appeared to be coming from all directions. "Be not afraid, for I am not a God. I am merely a messenger that is protecting this chariot. The chariot of the Gods will now leave this place and go to prepare a new place for you. The Gods shall create a new kingdom, a mighty place, but you are not yet ready to enter this kingdom." The armored figure turned and walked back to the edge of the cliff. "This world in which you live has been made to protect you. This world is yours. This Earth shall bow to you. Treat it justly and discover its endless regions. This chariot is the Ark which restored life after the flood, and it shall be hidden. With the God's instructions I shall protect this chariot and not allow anyone to find it until the Gods say that it is time."

"Oh mighty messenger, when will that time be?"

"You will not live to see it, but perhaps your children, or your children's children will. Tell the others of your town these things that I have shared with you. Now go, and be at peace." The figure leapt into the air and fell toward the Ark. The purple light engulfed him and pulled him inside. The two men stood to their feet and nervously looked toward the chariot, the Ark, and marveled as it began to rumble. Fire sprang from beneath it and the earth moved. The world around them seemed to shake as they both lost balance and fell to the ground. They were dumbfounded, afraid, and awestruck all at once. The mighty chariot of the Gods rose above their heads, sending out flames that snapped across the rocks and boulders of the deep trench. The chariot then accelerated out of sight, leaving only a thin trail of smoke in its wake.

The two men tearfully gathered themselves and began to run from the area, back toward their home, and to tell the others of the wonderful things they had just been told and seen. They caught up with the others just as they had neared town and told them all what they had seen and heard. In town they told of the marvels they had seen. The spoke of the messenger, and soon began to call it an Angel. The story spread throughout all of the homes and eventually Evelyn began to knock at Litran's doors.

"Yes, Evelyn? What is it?" Litran questioned, while looking into Evelyn's overjoyed eyes.

"Has Bitran not returned? I have such wonderful news to share!" Evelyn looked around the large hut but Bitran was nowhere to be seen.

"He has yet to return from his hunt. But what is this news." Evelyn then began to share all the wonderful things that the men had told everyone. The God's Chariot; the Ark, the great messenger angel that protects the Ark and how the Ark vanished in a ball of fire.

"Everything you have told us, the many tales, they are all true! The Gods promise a kingdom, a glorious place for us! Isn't it wonderful?" Evelyn could barely contain her excitement. "I'm going to tell my husband. There will be many questions for you and Bitran at tonight's gathering." Evelyn raced off into town and joined in with the merry people as they continued to praise the God's and speak of the men's story.

Nightfall came the gathering went as usual, aside from Bitran not returning. Everyone asked where Bitran was, but Litran had no answer for them. They ate and were merry, and Litran told more stories and answered the various questions from the people. The gathering ended, and midnight approached without any sign of Bitran.

Six days came and went, and Litran could no longer contain her fear. Bitran had been gone too long, much longer then she thought it would take him to hide the Ark and return. Bitran gazed out of her window while Lilith slept. It was night time of the fourth day, and she couldn't stand the waiting. A soft rain was washing over the town and her mood was just as dreary. She paced back and forth until her mind could no longer hold in the concern. Exhaustion began to overtake her, and after four days she finally drifted off to sleep at Lilith's side.

The morning of the seventh day, Litran opened her eyes to the singing of birds in the distance. She gazed at the window and felt the tiny fingers of a child grabbing at her shoulder. Lilith was sitting beside her and playing with her mother's hair.

"How long have you been awake, little one?" Litran sat up and kissed Lilith's soft white cheeks. But then Litran felt something hanging at her neck. She looked down and lifted a new necklace. The stone hanging from it glowed with a soft pink hue. It was long and circular shaped, and Litran instantly knew what it was.

"The core?" Shock filled her, knowing that the crystal was a ship's core. The mysteries behind the crystals have always puzzled her, but her understanding of it was simple in nature. The core stored data, star charts, could manipulate time, and produce enough power for a star cruiser. It was the most sacred of all forerunner technology and a gift from the gods to the forerunners. But her next thought was, "how did it get around my neck?" Litran sat up suddenly and her eyes raced around the hut, but she then felt the strong arm of a man wrap around her waist and rub her child baring stomach. She looked down and saw that Bitran was sleeping comfortably at her side.

Tears slowly rolled down her face, filled with happiness and excitement, but she didn't want to wake him. Clearly he was exhausted, and all of Litran's fears were instantly washed away.

"He is a reclaimer." Litran thought to herself. "There is not a creature on this planet that can match our strength. I had no reason to be afraid." She wiped the tears from her eyes and laid her head upon Bitran's chest. She listened to his steady heartbeat, the air that filled his lungs and embraced the warmth of his body. He had come home to her, but she knew that they would have a lot to discuss after his sleep. She lifted the crystal and stared at it deeply. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her efforts paid off and the crystal suddenly began to collapse upon itself, growing smaller and smaller. It was now no larger then a stone, and would be easier to explain if anyone in the village saw it.

"I hope I didn't wake you." Bitran stated in a soft whisper.

Litran turned her eyes upward and into his gazing eyes, "no. It was your daughter that woke me. But this was the first sleep I have had since you left." She sat up and kissed Bitran deeply. "What happened? The men returned with grand stories."

"I guess they believed my tale. They had found the ship before I could hide it, and I had to do something. I wore my armor and spoke to them, using similar ideas from your stories. But we no longer need to worry about the Ark. It is hidden. I will guard its location even upon my death bed."

Litran sighed. "No matter where it is hidden, we will need to watch over it. It must be hidden very far. It took you many days to return."

"It was a five day journey." Bitran sat up with concern upon his face. "We are the last of its protectors. This world, and the lives upon it, will develop into a new culture, but if they find the Ark…" A heavy pause followed as Litran embraced Bitran in an attempt to console his weary mind. "We must not let its secrets be released. You were right, Litran. I thought that we could forget and put it behind us. But we can't. We will have to protect it until humanity is ready."

"I have been thinking." Litran sighed. "When our new child is born, and old enough to travel, perhaps we should journey to the ark. We can live there, and together we can keep the Ark protected. We can pass down our knowledge to only a select group, such as our children, the true bloodline of the Reclaimers."

- - - - - - - -

Mobile Fortress  
108 Marine Desert Brigade  
15:31 October 26, 2552

Master Chief Spartan 117 walked the short hallway to the vehicle bay of the Mobile Fortress; three decks of weapons, vehicles and marines. At his side walked Linda, Spartan 058. They walked down the short flight of stairs into the vehicle bay as the company of Marines, once stationed in Egypt, loaded pelicans, warthogs, and scorpions for the battle ahead. The rows of human vehicles lay in perfect formation, two pelicans sat toward the rear of the bay, at the base of the ramp from the upper level. Beyond the pelican were two Wraith tanks sitting side by side. Behind the tanks were six rows of two warthogs. The vehicle bay was tight and packed to the brim with supplies and troops, but with a company of marines onboard it had to carry as much as possible. Their mission was to break through the Covenant defensive net, and then eliminate the covenant threat around Camp Eden.

Nearly three hundred feet long and rolling on massive tank treads, the mobile fortress was one of the old technologies used when Earth was still under civil disputes. The Egyptian Army created the mobile fortress to transport their soldiers across the tough African desert terrain. Capable of transporting more then two hundreds able bodies, the mobile fortress was decommissioned after the UEG was established. However a few of them were kept in serviceable condition in the event of urgent need, they were quickly pulled back into service when the Covenant first found Earth six days ago. It has been instrumental in defending African bases and ferrying troops to key offensives.

Cortana, the A.I. brainchild of Doctor Catherine Halsey, spoke swiftly to the Master Chief, "… thusly it wasn't expected of Regret to land in New Mombassa. If he was after the Ark, then he would have gone directly to it."

"Still, such a ship will be hard to defend." John replied, not carrying much for Cortana's theory based debate. "After we've defended Camp Eden, we'll have to meet Fred and Will there. Granted if ONI tells us were it is."

"They don't need to tell us, I already know where it is…" Cortana cut her statement short. "Chief, were near the Target Zone. The covenant's defense net is active, but those marines we sent in earlier have punched a sizeable hole in it. Two mortar cannons have been eliminated. We should be able to get this transport through. Just a moment." A burst of static filled John and Linda's ears as Cortana contacted the Sergeant placed in command of the attack.

"Sergeant Raynord, this is Cortana. The chief and I are here. Looks like you could use some assistance."

A rumble of explosions filled the reply, "Roger, Cortana. I can't say how long I can keep this door open. The Covenant has regrouped and is pressing the left flank of the TZ. We are taking heavy fire. I repeat. The TZ is hot! I recommend moving toward the right flank of the Zone."

"Copy that, Sergeant. I will take that under advisement and notify the commander."

"Sergeant Raynord, this Master Chief Spartan 117. What's the combat situation?" John hadn't noticed but he was already in a light jog to the first pelican while Linda was gathering up a select few Marines to tag along. Instinctively John and Linda knew that they needed to go out and assist the marines until the mobile fortress could speed pass.

Through John's speaker, "Covenant forces are charging, with wraith support in the rear. Ghosts are leading the charge but we managed…shit… we took out the first line." The constant bark of human artillery filled the com channel, but then Eric came back on. "We have three MBT's laying constant fire on those wraiths to keep the plasma out of my hair, but the covenant forces outnumber us by fifty to one. Their charging forces are nearly one hundred yards out."

Cortana cut into the conversation, "Is Spartan 087 still with you?" A green confirmation light winked on John's HUD. Kelly was there, and she heard everything. Again, John was about to be reunited with another lost Spartan, and once again they were needed to do the impossible. "We need to meet up with 087, chief. She has the data from the Black Ops mission."

"What data?" John replied. He was shocked to hear the strange comment because he had not known anything about retrieving data. John pulled up his BR55 and checked his ammo cash on his hip mounts. Six marines joined him in the pelican; Linda and six more marines jumped into the second bird. The ramp to the mobile fortress' vehicle bay lowered and the massive tank treads roared beyond. Two automatic turrets sat at the door, and prepared to mow down any threat that tried to attack while the belly of the monstrous sand crawling behemoth was exposed. The pelican began to hover above the vehicle deck as more marines ran around making final weapons checks and vehicle inspections. The exit hatch was just wide enough for the two pelicans to slowly glide through. The birds soared out of the bay and into the sky while the fortress continued to push forward.

"Sergeant Raynord recovered some form of intelligence from the Elite home world. I'm just now receiving the gathered intel from Siren, a Virus form AI onboard the Rogue Fantasy… the Black Ops have been busy. Interesting. Chief, the Black Ops are Spartans!"

- - - - - - - -

Dozens of explosions marked the front line of covenant ghosts and the following cascading explosion rumbled backward into the line of specters. The second wave of jackhammer rockets created a lot of damage, but what was left was a horde of aggravated brutes lead by a wall of jackals; a few lingering specters appeared but were out of range. The jackals were forced to hold their shields high and run ahead of their brute leaders, and they did it perfectly; however unwillingly. Eric and his line of marines, shock troopers and Mirratord warriors had limited cover available to them. Their cover options were to lay prone on the ground and fire into the charging covenant lines, while some marines ducked behind the scorpion tanks and the smoldering husks of covenant vehicles as plasma fire cut through the line.

Eric stood up after the first volley of plasma fire and noticed that Simyaldee and the other Mirratord warriors never flinched from their positions. The unshielded grunts had ducked, but quickly stood up to face the oncoming enemy.

Random plasma bolts blared through the line and over the prone warrior's heads. Random gunfire rang out from the line as Eric began to feel the intensity brewing. The men and women under his command were getting edgy, and fear was creeping into their hearts. He couldn't blame them, the covenant forces sounded like a thunder storm which was about to break upon their heads. The closer they came, the louder the rumble of their footsteps became.

Eric looked down the line, ignoring the plasma rounds that buzzed across his shoulder and watched as three marines buried their heads in the sand; as if that would help. He then looked to Rose and Melanie as they lay on their stomachs, gazing down the scopes of their BR55 rifles. Rose showed no sign of nervousness, unless she was hiding it, and Melanie was rolling two frag grenades in her left hand, anxious to face off against the covie bastards. More and more nervous screams rolled down the line as marines fired randomly at the wall of jackal shields.

Eric stormed to a nearby marine, gripped the soldiers jackhammer and took aim at the advancing jackals; now only fifty yards away. They were moving slow, but moving fast enough to close the gap and send fear into the human line. Eric pulled the trigger and the first rocket flew free. The jackals shrieked as the rocket beaded on them and they wanted to dodge, but their brute leaders held them in position. Five jackals died from the blow, and Eric let the second rocket sail just the same. The brutes tried to move more jackals into the rockets path, but it was too late. The blast tossed seven brutes into the air screaming as the air left their lungs. Eric spotted several more jackhammer rockets streaking toward the covenant line and smirked, hoping that this would give the human soldiers a renewed since of hope.

"Fire at will!" Eric screamed at the top of his lungs. He stepped forward, beyond the edge of the constantly firing tanks, and let loose a triple burst of hot lead. The random marine fire turned into a constant onslaught of human firepower. Stationary turrets drummed their successive beats and sniper rounds snapped constantly. Eric hadn't noticed it but he had taken four steps toward the covenant charge. "Meet them head on." Eric thought to himself as he fired. He took another short step forward, lowering his height in a crouch walk, and out of the corner of his left eye he could see another camouflaged Black Op uniform stepping ahead of the line.

Mathew was stationed two tanks down the line, near the center, and he stepped out just as Mathew had. He didn't step forward because he saw Eric, it was the same calling that all the Black Ops had; to face the enemy head on. Mathew began to reload his rifle and then noticed Eric standing several yards to his right.

Eric yelled back as the Covenant forces closed in to twenty yards, "Marines, cover the turrets and tanks. ODST, step up and get some!" The roar that followed was deafening. One hundred and twenty ODST stepped out of line, leveled their guns and fired into the advancing wave of brutes and jackals. Their lives were forfeit, and if the legendary Eric Raynord was going to take on the Covenant, then so were they. Nearly five hundred plus Covenant warriors roared in return, and Eric new what was to come.

The brutes pushed aside the jackals, snarling and barking through their sharp massive teeth. The brutes answer to the human's aggressive advance was to storm into them at full strength. Specters screamed ahead, their plasma turrets echoed a chopping repetition of super heated plasma. Ten ODST fell before they could step up to Eric and Mathew's new line, ten paces ahead of the tanks and marines.

"Form up!" Eric shouted as an ODST at his side caught two plasma rounds into his visor. The shock troopers steeped to the new line at Eric's side, as screams cried out around them. They all leveled their rifles and fired into the advancing wave. The brutes and jackals were cut down, and several specter pilots tumbled from their controls, but for every brute that died, ten more took its place. The brutes returned fire with waves of blue and red plasma bolts. Dozens of ODST crumbled under the weight and heat of the plasma weapons, but Eric and Mathew held their grounds; dodging plasma by inches. Plasma scorched Eric's helmet but he didn't falter. But what came next made him hesitate slightly. The front line of brutes tossed their weapons to the ground and sprinted toward him and his ODST, covering the twenty yard gap in a mere two seconds. Eric shouldered his rifle and pulled the trigger at the first brute that came near.

- - - - - - - - -

Palab watched. Palab waited. He snarled with the aggression of his ancestors, holding back the fury that was building within him. He watched as the honored human, Sergeant Eric Raynord, charged at the brutes, and Palab could not wait any longer. He exploded from his standing position using the strength of his legs to propel him ten feet before he dug his hands into the sand. On all fours Palab was lighting quick and so low to the ground that he seemed to slither like a snake on the hunt.

His mind filled with the words that Eric had told him, "lead by example." This battle was important enough that the humans risked everything to hold the area, and therefore Palab knew that he would do the same. He had not received the years of Mirratord training, but his agility and skill would carry him through this fight.

With every stride he came closer and closer to the battle, and he suddenly exploded into the air, his elbow spikes darted outward and connected with the back of a brute's leg. The brute collapsed under his own weight and Palab jabbed his boney spike into the brute's forehead. Another brute lunged at Palab's back, but the little grunt rolled clear and countered by sticking a plasma grenade to the brute's back. The brute roared as the grenade detonated and Palab raced through the battlefield of dead warriors. He closed the distance between himself and Eric and jumped onto the back of a brute that nearly grabbed the honorable human from behind. Palab wracked his claws across the brute's eyes and then lowered his right spike into the base of the brute's skull. The brute shrieked a harrowing cry. The combat of the grunts had been redefined and it was gruesome and deadly. Blood covered Palab's forearms and he zoned into blood thirsty trance.

Palab dropped to the ground and rebounded back into the air, nine feet. He spun with the counter wait of his massive arms and slashed a brute across the face. The brute roared in anger but soon found himself crumbling backwards as Palab kicked him. With the strength stored in his massive forearms, the same strength that could propel a grenade one hundred yards easily, Palab grabbed the brute's head and twisted it in an awkward angle. The snap of muscle and bone was muffled only by the brute's thick hide. Palab jetted his head up and looked around for the next target, but a jackal shield slammed into him. The jackal and Palab rolled a few feet and they both faced off. The jackal raised his plasma rifle while Palab snarled in protest. The first plasma burst whisked over Palab's head, and the jackal never had the chance to fire another. The bird like creature slumped over as Palab's elbow spike speared his chest and protruded out of its back. Palab had pushed the shield aside with his left arm and the jackal never had time to react. Palab tossed the lifeless carcass, snarled a blood chilling grumble and rejoined the fight at Eric's side.

- - - - - - - -

Melanie gritted her teeth with a fierce bite. Every muscle ached and screamed to run out and stand with Eric and Mathew. She no longer cared about her injury and was completely ignoring the pain. She stood to a knee and took random shots at brutes that passed through Eric's front line. She was as skilled with the rifle as any sharp shooter, and killed four brutes and two jackals with one clip. She popped the empty magazine from the butt of the rifle and watched as Rose fired casually at anything that came near Eric.

They watched as the brutes out numbered and out muscled the front line, but they also watched as Eric and Mathew blazed around the battle with unbridled passion. The tiny grunt messiah was bounding with cat like reflexes, cutting down brutes nearly twice his size. But the ODST weren't faring nearly as well. They were stumbling to and fro, being killed easily by overwhelming odds. They were fighting bravely, but they were simply outnumbered.

Rose jumped up and made a dash toward the battle, but she was tripped up by Melanie and pulled back into the line.

"You want to help?" Melanie yelled. "Stay here and don't die! You go out there and you will only distract Eric!"

"There's too many of them!" Rose pleaded. "We have to …"

"And what are you going to do…" A brute suddenly rumbled between them and Rose was knocked several feet back by the brute's shoulder. Melanie slapped the brute across the back and it collapsed at her feet. It rolled over as Melanie took aim to fire but, it knocked the gun away. Melanie, in desperation, dived into the brute's arms, straddled it to the ground and ripped her combat knife from her boot. She slammed the blade into the beast's chest and it roared in agony, but that only seemed to enrage the creature more. It grabbed Melanie by the arm with its left hand and began to pull the blade out. The creature's strength was unimaginable. Even with her Spartan strength she couldn't resist the creature's power.

Two nearby marines dived into the fray, not wanting to shoot the brute because Melanie was too close. The three of them struggled and the marines found that they were useless. Melanie screamed in determination as the brute snarled in return. It flung its massive right arm wildly, striking a marine and knocking Melanie's helmet off. The thick mucus of the beasts roar, spat onto Melanie's face but she didn't care. With all of her focus and strength she leaned into the blade, hoping that her weight would help push the combat knife back into the brute's chest.

Rose sat up just in time to see the Marines struggle to help Melanie. Her shoulder and chest hurt unlike anything she had ever felt. Thankfully, her armor chest plate held up against the gentle blow. Two more brutes were charging at them and Rose noticed that mostly all of the other marines nearby were dead, killed by plasma fire and grenades. She pulled up her rifle and took aim over Melanie's head toward the two advancing brutes.

"Aim for the head. Aim for the head. Aim for the head!" Rose mumbled to herself. She pulled the trigger and one of the brutes staggered, as bullet wounds marked through its throat. The beast slowly tumbled to the ground, grasping for air, while the other brute raced forward. Rose calmed herself and took aim on the other brute. She pulled the trigger and a blood curling click echoed in her ear. Her heart dropped with the realization that she was out of ammo. She peered at the ammo counter's zero and cursed in her mind, recalling Eric's warning about letting the gun get low on ammo. She reached to her pouch and pulled up a clip, and watched as the second brute slapped one of the marines helping Melanie. The marine's head was nearly torn off as his body slumped backwards. Rose slapped in the clip, and before she could raise her rifle to take aim a three round burst barked near her left ear, and the brute flipped backwards. Rose looked to her left, and a Spartan in battle ravaged green armor landed at her side. She instantly recognized the Mark VI battle armor and all of its field repairs. Above her head soared two Pelican's and the marines on board jumped down and into action behind the Master Chief.

"Form up on the line." The chief ordered as he sprinted forward. The marines behind him followed and raced to the line formed beside the tanks.

The brute under Melanie's knife jetted his left hand up toward her neck. Melanie felt the sudden pressure as the brute grabbed her with his monstrous vice like hands that covered her neck and part of her mouth. Her circulation was cut and she began to loose consciousness from the brute's tight grip. With one last desperate attempt she bit into the brute's hand, and the sharp taste of its blood filled her mouth, but she forced herself to bite harder and harder. The brute roared in agony but didn't let go.

Melanie had both hands on the knife, while the brute had one hand around her neck and the other tugging on her arms; attempting to stop the knife from going deeper. The two species were in a battle of life and death, and the first one to yield would most likely die. Suddenly the brute's grip loosened and Melanie regained her focus and breath. She looked up as the brute's arm slumped into the sand. A combat knife rested in its head and a Spartan gripped the handle. Melanie took slow deep breaths, calming herself and letting the blood flow back into her head. But as she stared at the Spartan's armor she realized that it wasn't Kelly that had saved her. This Spartan's armor was full of battle scars, scrapes and dried blood stains of previous encounters.

"Not many marines can survive a brute's grip." A female voice commented through Melanie's earpiece Luckily, the receiver hadn't been ripped out of her ear when the brute knocked off her helmet . "I guess you Black Ops really are Spartan Is."

"Get to your feet, Spartan." The Spartan ordered through his external speaker. His voice was deep, yet calming. He pulled the knife from the brutes head, sheathed it, leveled his rifle and ran out into the battle. Melanie grinned sharply as renewed strength filled her.

He was clearly the Master Chief and he called her a Spartan.

She picked up her helmet, shunned off the pain in her arm and gripped her rifle. As she reloaded the rifle another massive shift of sand happened near her. She turned and watched as another Spartan slumped into the ground beside her. This Spartan leveled a sniper rifle which had been heavily modified. The Spartan was silent and fired four quick shots, certainly killing whatever it was aiming for. After the shots fired, the Spartan placed the long barreled sniper rifle on its back and switched to a beaten up assault rifle. Melanie felt a little nostalgia from seeing the MA5B assault rifle, but the moment passed as the Spartan sprinted out into the battle behind the chief.

"You okay?" Rose questioned as she slumped beside Melanie.

"Never better." Melanie smiled behind her mask. She pulled up the rifle and fired into the mass of brutes, jackals and drones. She looked around quickly as a thought ran across her mind; the elites and grunts were gone.

- - - - - - - -

Eric turned to see Palab fighting at his side and exhaled knowing that he now had someone fighting with him. Mathew was cutting his way through the battle, aiding shock troopers as best he could, and pushing them toward Eric and Palab. Blood was trickling down Mathew's leg, but the Black Ops Spartan seemed unaffected. Soon enough Eric was joined by Palab, Mathew and three ODST as they all fought back to back in a small circle. A plasma grenade tumbled between them and they all scattered as it exploded. Two of the shock troopers tumbled into a huddled group of brutes and they were torn apart by the enraged beasts. Their screams were drowned out by the tearing of their flesh. Mathew, Eric, Palab and the last shock trooper regrouped and held the brutes back as best they could. Of the original one hundred and twenty shock troopers that stepped out to face the advancing Covenant numbers, only one remained, and he fought valiantly well. Eric knew the man, knew him well, but there was no time to reflect on him. The ODST's battle armor was stained in his own blood, but he continued to fight relentlessly. They were the last of the front line. Eric could hear the marines still firing into the Covenant lines behind him, but what also caught his ear was the scream of brutes in the distance. The screams weren't coming from the tank line, it was coming from the Covenant's charge.

While it seemed like hundreds of brutes were beating down on his small group, other brutes were apparently being slaughtered elsewhere. Palab snarled at his side, and the ODST fired several rounds from his magnum. Mathew kicked a brute's dead carcass as he reloaded his rifle, and Eric fired his last round into brute's chest.

"I'm out!" Eric grunted as he tossed the rifle and pulled up his side arm. Brutes were all around and they slapped their chests in aggression, but they were holding back. Forty brutes circled around Eric, Palab, Mathew and the ODST as they snarled aggressively; it was as if they were afraid to step toward them. But still Eric could hear the other rampaging brutes beyond; screams of agony escaping their lips.

Palab growled from Eric's side, "What wrong? Fight! Me kill you, traitors!" The brutes continued to snap and snarl but none of them seemed to advance, not wanting to be the next to die. They had watched three humans and a grunt hold their ground against twenty brutes, and they evidently realized that rushing them head on would be suicide.

A brute then screamed, "together, brothers! We shall crush them!" Like a tidal wave, the brutes charged simultaneously. They weren't as dumb as they looked. Mathew stepped back and bumped into Eric's, there was nowhere to go. The ODST took aim and held his breath. Palab snarled and lowered his stance like a cornered beast. Eric raised his magnum and readied to fire on the closest brute, fearing the end, but two brutes dropped to his feet and their heads tumbled to the ground a second later. Like a saving grace, Eric gazed into the eyes of Simyaldee.

The Mirratord elites cut into the wall of brutes and slashed with an uncontrolled rally of fury and speed. Their blades hissed through the air with expert control as brutes screamed in terror. One of the Mirratord elites was taken by surprise and three brutes tackled him. Two of the Mirratord raced to his aid, but could only watch as the brutes wore down his shields and beat him to death.

As the brutes struck their chests in celebration of killing one of the elites, several plasma grenades appeared out of thin air. The glowing balls where thrown by invisible hands and stuck to three gloating brutes. The change in mood was apparent as the brutes frantically tried to shake off the plasma grenades that were fusing to their skins. The grenades detonated, sending brute fragments scattering in all directions. The grunts, hidden by their active camouflage, knew that they were no match against the brutes, and used stealth as their alley in the field.

The Mirratord elites mourned the death of their comrade, but showed no sign of remorse. Gridolee jumped on top of a brute and overpowered it with his strength; driving his twin blades deep into the beast's shoulders and down the length of its torso. As the brute tumbled to the ground, Gridolee released a heavy battle roar that carried across the battle field. He then ran closer to Eric.

Simyaldee, still standing at Eric's side, easily cut down three nearby brutes using his one strike kill technique. He stood in front of Eric and the ODST, and shielded them from the sudden brute shot rounds that exploded against him. Simyaldee's shields easily withstood the assault and he pounced toward the lone brute. The brute, stunned that the elite's shields would hold against four direct hits, raised the blade end of the brute shot but missed. Simyaldee easily countered the brute's slow swing and stabbed his blade into the beast's fur covered side. The tip of his blade slid out of the brute's opposite side, cutting through its ribs, lungs and heart. The beast slumped to the ground, twitching as its muscles convulsed.

This action caught the eye of several brutes, but they also watched as five brutes were suddenly stuck with plasma grenades, a specter was destroyed, jackals were being instantly killed by unseen enemies and drones were being shot out of the sky by the human defense line. The battlefield was turning quickly into a covenant blood bath, and no matter how hard they tried they could not kill the elites. Though their numbers were superior, they were failing. Their direct assault had completely failed, even though many of the humans that had charged out were already dead.

"Fall back! We must regroup!" A brute commander shouted from the rear of their advance. The overwhelming number of brutes, jackals and drones turned and began to run. The marines on the tank line picked up arms and roared as they began to give chase.

"Shit!" Eric cursed as he heard the marines running up behind him. He turned and fired a round into the air, catching the marines attention. "Fall back to the damn line! I didn't give the order to pursue!" Eric grabbed Palab by the long extension on the back of his armor and held the rabid grunt at bay; Palab was about to start chasing the brutes as well. "Lieutenant Simyaldee, get your warriors in check. You know what's coming next."

"Yes. The brutes will no doubt reorganize for another advance. To chase them now will put us at a disadvantage, and we will loose this stronghold." Simyaldee turned to his Mirratord warriors, looking them all over to see how many had been lost. Luckily there was only one casualty. From the far left of the formation walked the Master Chief and another Spartan.

The chief was covered in brute blood, "Sergeant." Three Mirratord Elites walked behind the two Spartans and it was clear that they had fought together.

Eric looked up at the two green giants and reached for the chief's battle rifle ammo clips, "I'll borrow a few rounds if you don't mind." He knelt down and picked up his battle rifle out of the purple and green soaked sand. "How far is the mobile fortress?"

Cortana then spoke through the chief's armor, "A half-klick back, near the Recon LZ. It should be crossing the dune any moment now."

After slapping in one of the magazines, Eric pulled the hammer on the battle rifle, "Everyone fall back to the Target Zone defense line. We'll turn the covenants own guns against them. Chief, get your CO and his company to Camp Eden and finish this mission. Kelly should be back at the TZ by now." Eric placed his left hand to his helmet. "Black Ops, regroup at the Plasma Mortar. Kelly, fall in with the Chief and Cortana."

Cortana then mentioned, "I see that everyone still sees you as an ONI operative. Don't think I've seen many Sergeants that would be running the show the way you are. Shouldn't Commander Rodgers be overseeing this offensive?"

Eric chuckled. "Rodgers couldn't carry my ammo, let alone lead this strike." The rumble of the huge mobile fortress rolled across and through the sand dune and made its way toward the Target Zone.

Eric's speaker buzzed, "I heard that, Raynord. You're just lucky you still have pull inside ONI. I've been ordered to follow your orders while inside the TZ."

Eric and the group turned to begin walking back to the TZ, while Simyaldee and his Mirratord warriors kept watch on the Covenant retreat. "Lieutenant, once the covenant is out of range, pull your warriors back to the line. I'm going to lay out some mines for our friends over there. You copy that 05?"

"Loud and clear 19." Melanie's voice was soft in Eric's ears. He could tell that she was overjoyed by the order.

"So, they are the Mirratord?" Cortana questioned aloud. The Master Chief turned and looked at the group of Elites and Grunts that lingered behind; nine in total. "I don't see anything special about them. They look like regular Spec Ops, like the elite Major."

John turned off his external speaker and spoke only to Linda, Eric and Cortana, "looks can be deceiving. Look at their poise, their stance tells me a lot. And their fighting style was unpredictable. I could barely track those three elites that fought beside us."

"Agreed." Linda simply returned.

Eric continued to walk, "You don't know the half of it. Had they fought on the front lines on any of our colony, we would have never won any ground engagements. One Mirratord elite is equal to ten standard troops. Or two Spartans, however you want to look at it."

"I doubt that." Cortana replied.

Eric chuckled at Cortana's words, "Doubt it all you want. You've only seen them fight once and I've seen what they can really do. And I got the scars to prove it."

The chief turned and looked at the elite that stood at the front of the nine warriors. They all peered into the distance and watched the Covenant retreat. The master chief watched Simyaldee's stance closely, and even though he could only see Simyaldee's back, he could see that he was truly an elite worthy of leadership.

Sensing that someone was looking at him, Simyaldee turned his head slightly and saw that the Spartan was gazing at him. Simyaldee nodded his head respectfully toward the demon, and the chief returned the gesture. Simyaldee then returned to watching the covenant. He folded his arms across his chest and stood tall. The other elites did the same. It wasn't anything special, yet the Master Chief felt that everything Eric had said was true. These elites seemed calm even after everything they had just went through, and that was something that he himself had only learned through years of combat. The Master Chief watched as all nine of the warriors activated their cloaking technology and vanished. The ten grunts then did the same.

- - - - - - -

The Mobile fortress came to a stop at the side of the Scarab tank. The two powerful machines were nearly the same height, but the fortress was clearly longer and bulkier. The fortress was not as shiny as the Scarab's polished alloy, and its desert camouflage paint was spotted with marks of rust and plasma burns. The front and rear ramps of the fortress opened and marines began to file out, two scorpions roared out of the front ramp and rows of warthogs raced from the rear. The company commander, Jason Rodgers, stood on the front ramp and looked over the target zone. He watched as marines began to police the dead, while tech officers worked the two oversized plasma mortar canons nearby. Near one of the canons he could see a group talking to the master chief, and he slowly made his way down the ramp toward them.

Eric stepped forward and placed a map on the large support leg of the plasma mortar, "Black Op 05 is setting an AT mine field around the left flank, the elites and grunts are keeping watch on her until their phantom arrives. I've got a few Marine's shaking down the Scarab to defend the right flank, but thankfully the right flank is the weakest of the covenant defense net." Eric looked over the simple map he had before him and drummed his hand on the mortar canon's purple alloy. He looked up toward the direction of Camp Eden. "If all goes well, we can hold here for at least another day. That should be plenty of time for you to lead your company into Camp Eden, Chief, and take back our ground."

Cortana then cut in, "Major Rawlings' last report was that the camp's defenses were holding, but more and more covenant support is arriving."

"Chief, move your company into position." Eric barked. "I'm turning these mortar canons against the covenant defense net. Once I fire this baby, it won't be long before they return fire." Eric looked up at the tip of the plasma mortar and slapped it lovingly.

"Are you sure about that Sergeant?" Commander Rodgers voiced from the back of the group.

"Commander." Everyone saluted, only in respect of the man's rank. "No offense, Sir, but you should remain on the Mobile Fortress."

"I'll take that under advisement. The situation here is not as important as defending Camp Eden. Once we destroy a few more plasma mortars we'll be able to get more troops in. The _Enterprise_, _Jefferson_ and the _Advancing Storm_ are all awaiting the all clear to send in more troops. But they can't so long as these mortars are firing, and we can't wait any longer. Master Chief, take command of my company, and take the best troops with you." Rodgers then looked at Eric and Mathew. "All of them."

"Sir, you're not in command here…" Eric began to protest.

"I'm not going to make this a debate, Raynord. You stay here and the Covenant will drop everything they have on you. And this time they won't hold back. It's suicide to stay here. Master Chief, take the company and all the Spartans with you; you'll need the best at your side. I'll do what I can to hold the window open for more troops to pass. Plus we have the added firepower of the mobile fortress at our disposal."

"Chief, we don't have time to argue." Cortana added. "The covenant cruiser in the distance is moving toward Camp Eden."

"Damn it Rodgers!" Eric barked.

"No need for the best warriors in this war to die here, Raynord. This window isn't going to hold, and anyone left in this zone will be killed. Go. Get to Camp Eden and secure it. Those civilians need you."

Everyone turned to Eric, as the Master Chief questioned, "your orders?"

"Sergeant Johnson and his unit have already landed by now; if they made it." Eric thought. Sergeant Johnson and a few dozen squads dropped into Camp Eden from orbit to assist the guard units at the base, but they had to drop through the heavily defended covenant net. "Chief, get your company together and prepare to roll out. We'll follow you in. Kelly, I think you have something for Cortana."

Kelly walked toward the Master Chief and placed two fingers to her helmet, where her mouth would be, and swiped her fingers across her face; making a smiling gesture. The Master Chief returned the old greeting, pleased to see his long time friend.

"Linda, form up the company." The chief received a green confirmation light on his HUD and Linda raced deeper into the camp.

"Let's see what you have." Cortana stated. Kelly extended her hand and the Master Chief reached out and gently grabbed it. A wave of blue green static washed over their hands, and John felt, in some way, connected to Kelly. For a brief moment he could see into her mind as Cortana retrieved the data. He could see memories of long ago, on a distant world that he could hardly remember; Reach. It felt like an eternity since all of his Spartans woke up at the base; mere children back then. The training on Menachite Mountain popped into his fore thought and the smile on Kelly's face that he could never forget. She was more then just a Spartan under his command and in some way she was like a sister to him. They held hands for a few seconds, but it felt much longer. "I have the data. Hmm, it looks like Doctor Halsey's been busy; very busy."

"Alright, let's go." Eric stated to the Spartans at his side. "08, find Private Williams."

"You bringing him along?" Melanie questioned through the Black Ops private channel. She had been listening to the mission details while she planted the mines.

"No, but someone has to get Rose out of the area."

"You know she won't leave." Melanie sighed.

"And we can't leave her here." Eric placed a hand to his helmet and changed frequencies, "Rogue Fantasy, you copy?" Only a buzz filled his ear. "Shit."

Mathew and Wesley jogged up to Eric as the Spartans began to run toward the Warthogs and Scorpions, "Sarge?"

"Williams, find Rose and get her to the medical tent. Then tell one of the transport drivers to begin evacuating all injured to the Fallback Zone." Eric turned and they began to walk toward the warthogs, following the Spartans course.

"Sarge, you know she won't settle for that." Wesley returned. Melanie and the Mirratord joined Eric as he approached the line of warthogs and he turned to Simyaldee.

Simyaldee looked to the southern sand dunes as he addressed Eric, "Sergeant, the battle has gone equally to both sides… so far. But our place is now at the side of the Arbiter. We are off to join him, and protect him. It is the will of the high council, and we must obey. Though, I wish I could continue to fight at your side."

"We appreciate everything you've done. I'm sure the Arbiter will be grateful to have you at his side." A phantom began to rumble over the camp from the south and hovered overhead. The purple light of the gravity lift exploded from beneath and one by one the Mirratord vanished within. Palab, Migpap, Simyaldee, and Gridolee were the last. Palab sniffed the air and nodded toward Eric. He learned much from the honorable human, and vowed not to forget facing the trials with him. He patted Migpap on the shoulder and together they rose into the Phantom. Simyaldee nodded and followed Palab and Migpap. Gridolee faced Eric and walked a few feet closer.

"When next I meet you, Sergeant, I will have the head of a prophet strapped to my belt. I shall present it to you as a peace offering between you and my family." He nodded his head deeply in respect. Eric nodded in return. Gridolee then looked to Wesley, their eyes met briefly but neither spoke. Gridolee turned and stepped into the light of the phantom. The door closed, the purple gravity lift faded and the phantom turned back toward the south. It accelerated as it cleared the region. Eric hated to admit it, but he was indebted to the Mirratord. Had they not been there the battle against the Covenant would have been a massacre, but their skill and strength was the deciding factor in their victory. His anger toward them still existed, but his tolerance had grown stronger. Never had he met a nobler species.

Wesley, Melanie and Eric continued toward the chief's company, and as they came closer to them Eric spotted Rose about to jump into the driver's seat of a hog.

"Get her out of that hog!" Eric ordered to Wesley. Wesley sighed and sprinted to the warthog.

Melanie opened the private channel, "Just to warn you, this is going to get ugly." Eric understood that more then Melanie did. He had been on Rose's bad side more then once, and when she wanted her way she usually got it. Eric couldn't hear the conversation between Wesley and Rose, but he could see that Rose was not happy. She pushed passed Wesley and stormed toward Eric as he placed his rifle into a nearby warthog.

"Master Chief, take your company and pull ahead, we'll be right behind you." The chief nodded his head and climbed into the passenger seat of a hog. Kelly climbed into another, while Linda mounted on the side of a warthog. The company of marines sped into the desert toward Camp Eden; twelve warthogs, two scorpion tanks and two pelicans overhead. It was crowded and cramped on each of the vehicles, but they only had a few kilometers to go. Dust clouds followed the wake of the speedy vehicles, while the scorpions stalked slowly behind.

Eric stepped away from the warthog as Melanie and Mathew climbed inside. He took off his helmet, held it to his side and waited for Rose to step to him. He could see the anger on her face, the emotion boiling inside and her eyes fighting back tears. Behind him he could hear the plasma cannon preparing to fire; its loud rumble as plasma charged within it. A loud pulse followed the sound and a gigantic mass of blue plasma escaped from the weapons top mounted barrel.

Rose stopped mere inches from Eric and didn't look into his eyes, "don't leave me behind, sir. I'm not useless… I can help." Rose was sniffling, fighting against her emotions.

"You heard my orders. Get to the medical tent and wait for the next transport out of here."

Marks ran up to Eric and Rose, not knowing that he shouldn't have, "Sarge, that Scarab is ready. I've gotten control of … it." He saw Rose crying as she tried to look away.

"Good job. You'll take orders from Commander Rodgers from here on out. Dismissed." Marks hesitated and looked at Rose.

"You okay, babe?" Rose nodded her reply; a heartfelt yes. Marks slowly turned and walked back toward the Scarab tank.

Eric waited until Marks was clear and he gripped Rose gently by the shoulders; speaking softly, "Not this time, Rose. I've taken you into danger too many times. Not again. How many times do you have to barely avoid death?"

"I won't be a burden to you. I can fight. My aim has improved… I know how to shoot. I won't… I won't be in the way." Rose could no longer hide her feelings. She wrapped her arms around Eric and held him tightly in her arms. Eric leaned his chin against the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her in a soft embrace.

"I have to go."

"What if you don't come back? Don't leave me again… please. Don't leave me behind." Rose couldn't forget the moment she lost Eric the first time, the day she watched him board the transport from school fifteen years ago. "They stopped me from seeing you. I couldn't say goodbye, or tell you how I felt."

"I know that Kim told you not to talk to me." Rose fell silent, her cries halted. "Siren told me everything." Eric pushed Rose away and looked into her eyes. "Get to the medical tent. Wait for the transport. When this battle is over, I'll find you." He kissed her softly on the forehead, stepped back and pulled on his helmet. He wanted to say more, but time wouldn't wait.

"Private Williams, get to it." Eric shouted to Wesley. Wesley jogged closer and nodded to Eric. In one quick motion, Eric spun around and sprinted to the jeep. He jumped in the passenger seat and told Mathew, "Gun it!"

"About damn time!" Melanie shouted from the back. In the rear view mirror Eric watched as Rose and Wesley turned and walked back into camp. Wesley was consoling her and Eric knew he had to put the thought out of his mind. His job wasn't done yet. Melanie was also watching Rose, "She's not at all what I expected. What did you tell her?"

"I told her what she needed to hear." While he knew he had a mission to accomplish, Eric also knew that his chances of surviving were slim. His luck on the battlefield was eventually going to run out.

A few moments passed and Mathew spotted the company ahead of him, "19, they aren't that far ahead. I can see them." The warthog speed passed the two scorpions and then caught up with the speedy warthogs in front. Mathew slowed down as they joined the pace of the head warthog and the Master Chief.

"Well, it's about time you three showed up. We were beginning to have our doubts." Kelly stated over the com.

"There's no way I could miss out on this." Melanie replied.

"Can't wait to kick some brute ass!" Mathew chimed in.

The Master Chief cut in, "Enough chatter, Spartans. Sergeant, what's the call?"

"Linda, take a platoon and man the tanks while providing cover fire, and take out their heavy weapons. Kelly, you have the warthog platoons. Focus on the vehicles and stationary weapons; use the warthogs' speed to cause confusion. Chief, you and I will lead the infantry, two platoons, we'll rush in and find Johnson and put an end to this stand. Once we've dealt with the little fish, we'll take down that nearby cruiser."

Five green lights popped into Eric's HUD, compliments of Cortana; "I've linked all of the Black Ops into my system. Their modified Shock Trooper armor has basic com and HUD systems. I can relay any commands to the Sergeant just as if they were wearing MJOLNIR armor. Black Ops, simply speak yes or no and I can translate that in to a green or red indicator."

"Wow!" Melanie gleefully returned.

"Good, that should make things simple to communicate with the Black Ops." The chief added as he looked over the company. Camp Eden was in sight and overhead was the small Covenant cruiser, plasma was raining from its turrets and into the camp. "Pull it together and let's get in there." The roar of tank treads and warthog engines

Cortana then cheered into all Spartans personal com channels, "Six Spartans versus a Covenant Cruiser, I like these odds. Spartans form up, Covenant drop ship inbound!"

_**To be concluded…**_


	28. Am I your Hero?

**Stage 28: Am I your Hero?**

The 'U' shaped covenant drop ship descended from above, parting the clear skies like a hawk attacking its quarry. The plasma cannon under its main fuselage began to fire pounds of plasma toward the oncoming company of marines. The lead warthogs had zero cover and sped through the sandy region with reckless aggression. The plasma instantly crystallized the sand around the warthogs as they missed their targets, but the small glass fragments couldn't damage the thick armored tires of the hogs.

Sandy dust and super heated plasma filled the air around the warthogs as they dodged the incoming fire, and the drop ship maintained a good distance to avoid the warthogs' gauss cannons and chain guns. The drop ship focused so hard on the warthogs that it hadn't yet noticed the two creeping tanks slowly approaching from the wake of the warthogs' dust. Linda, listening in on the open com from the Sergeant, knew exactly where the drop ship was. She tapped the tank driver's seat, pointed to her left and the driver turned out of the sandy cloud. As soon as they came into the clear, the drop ship was fully in view. The barrel of the MBT angled upward, and no matter how high the drop ship was, it would not be high enough to escape the tanks deadly ninety millimeter arsenal.

The barrel of the scorpion propelled two successive payloads with a satisfying explosion upon the drop ship's middle canopy. The drop ship split in two and fell from the sky in a smoldering rumble of secondary plasma discharges.

"Target down." Linda shouted across the com, but those words fell on deaf ears as the wave of warthogs ahead of her ran into their next obstacle. The jagged rocks of a long dried river bed near Camp Eden's external wall began to appear ahead, and within them were dozens of specters and two deployable lookout towers. Sniper rounds shot around the warthogs as jackals fired from cover. One warthog driver was shot through the head, and the hog spun out of control. The Marine passenger frantically tried to grab the wheel and regain control, but the hog swerved out of control and slammed into rock face; exploding on impact and killing the other four passengers.

Each hog was filled to capacity, except the Spartans' hogs which was slowed down by the Spartans weight. Maneuvering was difficult and stopping would be insane, but it was their job to help clear out the covenant threat around the camp.

Eric tapped the com channel, "Warthogs, push through to the wall! Tank platoon, hold your position and take out those sniper towers. Infantry, let's get in there! Go! Go! Go!" The lead warthogs with the Spartans and a few dozen marines, split from the main company charge and raced into the rocky overhangs and trenches. Kelly and her warthogs sped ahead, found the main road toward the camp and accelerated toward the wall. Linda and the tanks stopped at the edge of the rocky edge and began to fire upon the lookout towers.

The region around Camp Eden was a dry riverbed, and thusly it was filled with jagged rocks, cliff faces, ledges, trenches and more then two hundred imbedded covenant forces. Gone was the soft loose sand of the desert. It was now replaced with the windy canopy of overhanging rocks and a giant black wall in the distance; Camp Eden.

Eric checked his ammo as they drove into the twisting channel of rocks and came to an area where the hog could not move ahead. Before the warthog stopped, he jumped from the passenger seat, leveled his rifle and crouch walked to the nearest rock. The brutes had to know they were arrived, otherwise he was giving them to much credit. The rumble from the three warthogs behind him should have alerted every creature in the camp, let alone the explosion from the lookout towers. Eric peeped around the corner and the rock was suddenly engulfed in plasma rounds. Eric pulled his head back suddenly and looked back at the others. Behind him were three Spartans and twelve marines, going up against a force of encamped brutes and jackals. If the brutes had any common sense they would have advanced the drones. The flying bugs would have had a superior advantage and pinned them down, but Eric didn't hear the common beating of their wings and chalked another situation up to luck; or the Covenant's stupidity in ground based combat.

The chief crept up to Eric's side and waited for the plasma volley to cease. At the first opportunity he quickly stuck his head around the corner and pulled back.

"Eight brutes and thirteen jackals." The chief softly stated to everyone. He shouldered his BR55 and tugged from his back a fresh jackhammer he took from his warthog. "On you, Sergeant." Eric nodded while marveling at the chief's quick vision. The chief's enhanced vision had taken in nearly all of the opposing forces in the area with one quick glance.

"In and out, people. No heroics and stay behind the chief. 05 and 08 find a ledge and provide cover fire. The chief and I will advance. Marines, fall in behind us." Eric nodded to the chief, and the chief cut around the corner with the agility of a cat. For a man wearing a half ton of armor, he was graceful, light on his feet, mind numbingly quick and alert to everything ahead of him. Plasma roared toward the chief, washing over his shields, but his jackhammer launcher spat back or more powerful arsenal. Rock and blood cascaded backward as the second rocket shot from the long barrel of the chief's jackhammer. The dual explosion was deafening as one of the rock walls crumbled down upon them; jarred loose from the shockwave. Eric and the Chief pressed ahead, ignoring the falling rocks and dust.

The chief tossed the jackhammer, pulled up his battle rifle and fired into the dust ahead. Eric knelt down at his side, pulled up his rifle and squeezed the trigger. The two rifles cut down anything that moved. Two brutes stampeded out of the dust and charged at Eric and the chief, snarling aggressively. They were close, much too close to risk taking them down. The Chief and Eric stepped back, firing as they did, but the lingering dust made it difficult to hit them in the head. The Chief fired a volley and scored a direct head shot, spilling the brute to the ground as they continued to retreat. Eric continued to fire and eventually the brute crumbled from the numerous shots.

Eric felt a little out done by the Master Chief, but knew he would get another chance to prove himself soon. This was the moment he had been waiting for since he joined the UNSC. Not only was he fighting with the Spartans, but he was standing side by side with the Master Chief, a hero amongst heroes. The sound of a specter's repeating plasma turret began to fill their ears, and then the spotted the vehicle appear from behind a rock. The specter was fully loaded with four brutes, and the turret gunner turned the plasma gun onto them.

Plasma spat from the specter in successive fashion, forcing Eric and the chief to seek cover behind a rock. Brute shot grenades then began to explode around them as marines screamed in agony. Their small platoon was getting cut down; they were sitting ducks. Eric looked around and realized that he was sitting in a channel, there was no way to get around the specter. He looked to the ledge above and it was a clean ten foot jump. The ledge was much too high for him to jump onto, and if he tried to climb he would be cut down before he reached the top.

"04, what's your location?"

"Two rocks from your six. I can see you and the chief, but that specter has me and 08 pinned as well."

"Shit!" Eric cursed. He peeked around the rock and noticed the more jackal reinforcements had arrived, but he pulled his head back just as the plasma turret fired at him. "Can anybody get a shot?"

The chief looked up at he ledge, then at his rock, "Hold fast. I'll go." The chief primed a frag grenade chucked it over his head and waited for the explosion. A confirming thud sounded and the chief bolted to the top of the rock he was hiding behind. He scaled the small six foot rock in a second then rebound to the top of the channel wall in one jump. The brutes fired at him, but he was long gone. Eric then laid his battle rifle on the side of the rock and fired blindly at the specter.

The Master Chief raced along the top of the channel and looked down at the specter and its support of jackals and brutes. He pulled up his riffle and fired several rounds at the base of the gunner's skull. The brute tumbled from the turret and its surrounding forces turned their fire upward toward the Master Chief's position.

The plasma rounds ceased near Eric and he quickly stood from his cover. He glared at the distracted covenant patrol, "Frag out!" Suddenly six grenades sailed over his head and landed in the heart of the oblivious covenant group. The explosion tore a hole in the specters engine and plasma core, causing a chain reaction. Anything that wasn't killed by the first few grenades was killed when the specter's engines reached critical mass and exploded.

"Marines clean up any stragglers. 05 and 08 check the next area and see what we're up against next." Eric stated to the group.

Cortana cut into the channel, "All lookout towers have been eliminated. The warthogs are now pushing the Covenant forces toward us, and away from the wall."

Eric grinned at the news, "Linda, the infantry will remain inside the rocks but be advised, the brutes are retreating back toward you. Check friend-or-foe tags before firing on anyone coming out of the river bed." A green confirmation light appeared in the Chief's HUD and Cortana relayed the answer to Eric.

A static burst signaled in Eric's ear, "Lieutenant Raynord, is that you?"

"Is that you Johnson?" Cortana questioned aloud and simultaneously into Sergeant Johnson's com.

"Cortana? I guess the chief is with you. Bout damn time you all got here. The camp wall is starting to ware thin from those plasma mortars. Lieutenant Raynord…"

"I'm a sergeant now, Johnson." Eric returned. "And kill the chatter, the covenant might be sniffing the frequency."

"Sergeant! How the hell did you become a sergeant? Talk about an odd career move. But don't worry bout the frequency, the brutes haven't been sniffing any UNSC bands since they got to Earth. They're too busy fighting off the flood ships in orbit and look for the Ark. What's your current position?"

"Johnson, we're in sector 7B, eighty yards east of entrance nine." Cortana chirped into the com channel.

"I have a few squads in that area inside the gate. If you can clear out the Covenant forces near the gate, I can send out some support."

The Chief opened his channel, "Copy?" Kelly's green light flashed on the Chief's HUD, confirming that she understood. She split her pack of warthogs and began to race toward the nearby gate.

Cortana then replied, "Spartan 087 is on it, Johnson. She'll let you know when the gate is clear."

Eric interrupted, "Johnson, what's the status inside the wall?"

"That cruiser wiped out our shield grid a few minutes ago and then some brutes dropped in from orbit. We cleaned up the brutes easy enough, but that cruiser is still looming over head. I'm waiting to see where it will drop its gravity lift."

Cortana suddenly cut across everyone's com channel. "Chief, I just intercepted a wide band communication from Truth. They've found the Ark and he's ordering all cruisers to attack the defending human threats near it!" On cue, the covenant cruiser overhead began to pull away from Camp Eden; leaving all of it's ground support troops behind. The ship turned on its central point and sped toward the setting sun. The cruiser had clearly overtaken Camp Eden and could have unleashed its full arsenal of troops and weapons upon them, but thankfully their lives were spared; at least for the moment.

Eric paused and began to stare into space. The full covenant war group was about to pound away at the human defenses in the area of the Ark. He leaned against a nearby rock as the other marines around him seemed dumbfound on what to do.

The com channel opened, "This is Hood to all UNSC air and ground forces. Rally to the following coordinates at best speeds. We must stop the Prophet of Truth at all cost. All forces near Camp Eden, you will continue to defend the civilians."

Cortana breathed heavily, "Hood has transmitted coordinates to all ships, data pads and personal chatters." A soft moan filled into her voice, "Chief, what… what are we going to do?"

The com channel opened again, "Master Chief, this is Hood, I need you and your Spartans to get to the Rally point ASAP. That forerunner ship is now entering orbit. Stop Truth no matter what. Our lives depend on you and your team." The Chief's gut cringed at the words. He was so close to killing Truth a few days ago, but he had to abort his plan and settle on taking out the Forerunner ship's engines.

"Understood, sir." The master Chief stood tall, ignoring the past situation aboard the Forerunner ship and looked toward Eric.

Eric opened a channel, "Rogue Fantasy, copy!" Eric held his breath because all previous attempts to contact his ship had failed.

A choppy reply echoed, "19, I … copy you … damaged but making best … you."

"Captain Monroe I'm requesting immediate extraction, to the Rally point."

"Pelicans are … to you. Doctor Halsey and Smith are headed for …. Eden. But, Be advised … toward you."

"Repeat!" Eric shouted into the noisy channel.

"Wraiths! Dozens of … toward you!" The reply was broken, but Eric understood. He climbed the nearest rock-face to the top of the deep maze like river bed. He then spotted a random jackal scout standing on top of the ledge. The jackal was quick with its plasma rifle and fired off a clear round before Eric split its chest with his BR55. The plasma round scorched across Eric's arm and burned into the small gap between his armor. The pain was excruciating. Eric gripped it with his left hand and cursed that he was shot by a lone Jackal, but Eric pressed the thought out of his mind.

"My luck really is starting to ware out." He thought to himself. Eric knew that he would need to get some biofoam and tend to it later. He then looked toward the distance behind Linda and her tank team. A monstrous cloud of sand was coming and he quickly open his com. "Linda, wraiths are coming up your six!"

- - - - - - - -

The Rogue Fantasy descended through the clouds, smoke spewing from its side and engines. Flames snapped inside the pelican bay as fire control teams battled the flames inside. The ship was listing slightly on its portside, but the helmsman was able to keep the ship in the sky.

On the bridge, Captain Monroe thumbed her chin while she crossed her fingers across her soot covered face. She looked to the empty seat of her weapons officer and sighed. He had been killed when the Rogue Fantasy's weapons' terminal exploded. The whole command crew had fought the blaze and tried to save the young man that was being burned alive, but he died in their arms.

"Siren, did Juggernaut drop off Halsey and Smith yet?"

"No ma'am. Juggernaut is having problems clearing his Identity Tags for the landing strip. The base won't let him land.

"It's because we're Black Ops. None of our equipment exists within the UNSC mainframe." Monroe rubbed her temples in frustration.

"I'll hack in, Captain. Run some fake numbers to get our ships in."

"No, we don't want to look intrusive. Tell Juggernaut to contact Major Rawlings. She can vouch for us."

"Done. But it will take time for Major Rawlings to respond, she isn't near a terminal. 19 and the other Spartans are about to get hammered, they need to be extracted."

"I know, Siren. I know. Can we launch another Pelican?"

"No ma'am. The fire on the Landing Deck is blocking access to any of the available Pelican's. Nearly thirty percent of the blaze is under control, but the fire teams need more time."

"What about picking them up directly, Captain?" The helmsman questioned aloud.

Siren ran the figures, "At best speed; twenty minutes. But those wraiths have already begun to attack. I can try to fire a salvo of Archer missiles, but the missle controls are damaged. I can't promise that the missile programming will fire correctly. There is a high probability of a stray missile hitting our troops." Siren appeared on the holotank and looked to Captain Monroe with a heavy expression. "As much as I hate to admit it, Eric and the others are on their own."

- - - - - - - -

"Sergeant Johnson, all threats have been neutralized." Kelly stated into her com channel. Her warthog driver steered the smoking hog toward the massive gate door. The fifty foot gate parted with a loud hiss, and hundreds of marines and ONI officers ran out. Once the door parted wide enough, several scorpions and warthogs began to speed through. Kelly jumped out of the hog and saluted a middle aged, highly decorated woman. The woman was grey haired and tall, wore an all white uniform and was branded with the label of a Major.

She looked around the area, "It has been a while, has it not?"

"Ma'am?" Kelly questioned. "You must be mistaking me for one of the other Spartans."

"Oh no, I know exactly who you are. If anyone deserves to wear that armor, it is you." She walked closer and Kelly realized that the woman was very tall for a normal human. She was nearly six feet five inches. "Take off your helmet." Kelly obeyed and popped the seal of her helmet. A soft hiss escaped and she pulled the helmet off. "It's been more then thirty years since I've seen you. You always did like your hair long." The major laughed as she picked at Kelly's hair.

"Ma'am, I haven't had time to cut it. I know it's not regulation. But I have work to do. If you don't mind…"

"Don't you know who I am?" The major sadly questioned.

"Yes, Major Rawlings. You're my mother's sister; my aunt." Kelly stated in a somewhat none caring way. She had long ago severed her connection with her family and adopted the Spartans as her new family.

"You where with Sergeant Raynord and the others, so you know what it means to be in our family. I'm sure you uncovered many secrets inside the Seed ship." She looked at Kelly awkwardly and stepped closer so that no one else would hear her words. "We carry the direct bloodline of the soldier gene. It has always been our destiny to guard the Ark. I am no longer able to fight, but your mother knew that you would be the one to face them. We knew they were coming one day, so we had to be sure that one of our children was placed into the Spartan Program. Others of our extended family were also in the program, but sadly did not survive this far. Kelly, you and the chief must protect the Ark."

Kelly looked up into the eyes of an approaching black man, "Sergeant." She stated loudly so that Major Rawlings would stop talking. The Major cut her words short and turned to see Sergeant Johnson approaching.

"I heard that we have to save the world, and that the chief is getting the Spartans evac'd to the Rally point. If there's going to be a fight, then I'm in it. I have to watch my boy's back." Johnson walked past the major and tipped his hat, "Ma'am, I left Sergeant Major Mc'Cloud in command. He'll be taking your orders from now on." Johnson then climbed in the hog and nodded to Kelly.

Kelly sealed her helmet as Major Rawlings looked back toward her. "I have to go, Ma'am. My duty as a soldier is to eliminate any threats to the UNSC and Earth. I don't care about the details or about being a descendent of the Reclaimers." She saluted and jogged toward the hog. Major Rawlings watched as the warthog turned and raced away from the gate. A group of highly armored ONI officers ran to her side; bodyguards

She then mumbled toward Kelly's warthog as it sped away, "Where the master chief may fail, only you can succeed. The battle for the Ark is not the end. We must have the ship core back." She turned and the officers surrounded her as they walked back into the gate.

- - - - - - - -

Eric and the Master Chief jumped into the nearest hog and sped toward Linda's tank formation. The wraiths were dropping mortar on Linda's group, but they were holding their own. Eric steered toward the cover of an overhanging rock just off the side of the road. He stopped at the rocky outcropping and gazed through his binoculars. He could see ten wraiths, but there were no signs of faster vehicles to protect the wraiths. Eric thought this was odd, but nothing the Covenant was doing seemed right. When the elites used this formation, they usually provided ghost support with the wraiths, but the elites were no longer involved and the covenant were suffering greatly for it.

"Cortana, report." Eric declared into his com.

"All brute and jackal forces within the river bed have been neutralized, save a few stragglers. The company cleared them out with the support of Camp Eden's regiment. Your black ops Spartans and 087 are on their way here while the marines search for stragglers."

The Master Chief ran out toward the line of tanks and began to talk with Linda, but on a closed frequency. Eric then watched as a mortar round exploded on the left most tank. The explosion killed four nearby marines and knocked Linda and the Master Chief off their feet. They both quickly stood up as their shields recharged. They ran to cover behind a rock on the side of the road.

Eric opened his com as he ran toward them, "Chief, we can't hold that many wraiths back with one scorpion."

Kelly's voice then filled the com, "Sergeant Raynord, I have four MBTs behind me. But we are still out of range, we'll be there soon!" The com died and Eric realized that Kelly must have picked up more tanks from inside Camp Eden. Eric positioned himself behind a rock as the lone tank, and its two marine pilots, fired from the road on top of the small hill.

"Great." Linda stated as she pointed beyond the line of wraith tanks. Everyone instantly fell in to shock as they watched a Scarab part the dust from behind the wraith tanks. It quickly began to charge its primary weapon, and even from their distance they could see the blue-green plasma cannon sparking to life.

"… shit." Eric softly cursed. This battle was over and Eric knew it. Four scorpion tanks wouldn't be enough to stop the massive scarab from slamming its arsenal into them. In order to stop it, they had to get close, but it was more then two hundred yards away and guarded by a line of eight wraiths; two of them had been destroyed by the scorpions. The scarab would easily melt them away before they could get within fifty yards. But still he had to try. He jumped up and ran back to the warthog as more plasma mortars rained down from overhead.

The wraiths were finally able to track the last scorpion, and no mater how aggressively the tank driver maneuvered they could no longer avoid the inevitable. Two mortars landed on top of the scorpion and engulfed it in a sea of blue flame. The outer hull of the tank charred, the barrel exploded off and the screams of the pilot and gunner echoed across the sand.

Eric jumped into the driver's seat, "Chief, we don't stand a chance against that scarab unless we can get close."

"Let's go." The chief and Linda jumped into the hog as it crept beside them. Eric floored it and speed into the dessert, leaving the hard river bed behind. Sand kicked up and plasma began to rain down upon them from the wraiths. Eric swerved as numerous explosions rocked around him. He cut the wheel hard and turned parallel to them. The mortar shells began to adjust to Eric's course and he turned back toward the wraiths.

It was suicide, Eric as well as the Chief and Linda knew it, but until the Rogue Fantasy arrived, they had to do what they could to stop the covenant from attacking the base. Eric knew his luck was up, he knew he was going to eventually die in this war just like Roy, Justin, Sammy and his one time love Kim. It was the path of a soldier, any soldier, to do what they could to win the battle and that sometimes meant doing the impossible.

A mortar round exploded ahead of the warthog, flipping it forward and tossing Eric from the wheel. The chief tumbled along the ground and Linda slid out when the hog slammed to the ground. Eric stood and gathered his senses. He instinctively pulled up his side arm and took aim at the nearest wraith. His action was laughable, but it was all he could do. He fired a single shot and the wraith exploded in cool-hot wave of blue green plasma. He then watched as two more wraiths exploded at its side.

The scarab turned along the line of wraiths and slammed its leg through one of the wraiths. The small blue and heavily armored tank was no match for the tons of steels smashing into it. The scarab's main gun then fired along the panicked filled line of wraiths, destroying four tanks with one shot.

Eric slumped into the sand as the chief stood at his side. Linda groaned as she jogged toward them, her shields sparking back to life, and they all watched as the last wraith fired back at the scarab in a futile attempt to defend itself. The scarab had made quick work of them and their weapons had done little damage against its hull. Eric then realized that perhaps his luck hadn't yet run out.

- - - - - - - -

"This is nuts, babe!" Marks shouted again as he continued to monitor the scarab's course. He planted his hands firmly on the controls and gazed through the forward view screen. "This is disobeying a direct order."

"Screw Commander Rodgers!" Rose shouted from the main weapon's control panel. "And if you don't like it you can leave."

Wesley descended from the top deck and walked into the command room, "Commander Rodgers said that the company would stay behind and continue to defend Camp Eden."

"And that's what we're doing!" Rose barked. Everyone in the command room looked at her oddly; the eight marines, Marks and Wesley.

"We were told to guard the Target Zone, not the Camp itself!" Wesley sharply returned.

"Whoops, I guess I didn't hear that part."

"You're disobeying orders again, Rose!" Rose turned and gazed at Wesley, feeling that the situation seemed oddly familiar.

"Are you going to pull your sidearm again, Wesley?"

"Damn it Rose. This is the military. We have orders and a chain of command…"

"Private!" Marks cut into the argument. "Wraiths, dead ahead!"

"Charging the main battery!" Rose shouted.

"Holly hell!" Marks shouted. "That warthog has balls. Look! They're charging the wraiths."

"Damn fools." Wesley stated as he peered at the screen. "But still they have balls…" The screen zoomed in and everyone fell silent as they saw who was in the hog.

"Hey, isn't that one of the Sergeant's men driving those two Spartans?" A marine from the back stated.

"Eric…" Rose whispered as she looked at the screen. A mortar exploded in front of the hog and tossed it's passengers like rag dolls. Rose was breathless and her eyes followed Eric as he tumbled in the sand. Her heart stopped as Eric stood to his feet and pulled up his magnum. Rose fought against time. She pressed a quick series of buttons, gripped the trigger control and zoomed in on the nearest wraith. The tank exploded in joyful blaze. "Marks!"

"Oh, right!" Marks snapped out of his gaze and quickly began to maneuver the scarab into a better firing position. The scarab began to thud as numerous plasma rounds exploded against the hull, but the damage was only superficial. She squeezed the trigger once the main plasma weapon had fully charged, and began to decimate the covenant tanks.

- - - - - - - -

The wraith tanks were easily destroyed and after journeying back to the river bed, the scarab cautiously stopped beside a large rock. Eric's smoldering warthog crept beside them and Eric stepped out; the Chief and Linda at his side. They walked toward the massive rock as Kelly and the tanks began to form up on the road atop the small hill. Marines began to cheer from the top of the scarab as they quickly began to climb down the rock face toward the sand below. Eric nodded his head toward each.

"I doubt that Commander Rodgers sent you out here." Eric grinned.

His com buzed, "19 this is Juggernaut, sorry for the delay." A pelican slowly descended into the region and landed on the road, just in front of Kelly's line of tanks. "I had some VIP's to deliver to Camp Eden, but we can depart whenever you're ready." Eric then looked up and saw the Rogue Fantasy roll into view above all their heads.

"Sorry it took us so long, 19." Captain Monroe stated over the com. "The fleet his headed for the Rally point, luckily it's not too far."

"Raynord, lets go." Johnson shouted from the street. "You were always too damn slow."

"If you knew how bad my week was, you'd be a little slow to." Eric snarled in return.

Johnson shot back a wicked gaze, "Your week! Wait until I tell you about the shit I've been through. Now let's get to this Ark thing and kill us a prophet. Chief, load'em up." The master chief nodded toward Linda and Kelly and they walked toward the waiting Pelican.

Eric began to climb the hill toward the road when Melanie, standing on the road, spoke into his com, "Sarge, you may want to debrief the Private". Eric looked up at Melanie and she pointed her head back toward the scarab tank. Eric turned around and released a heavy sigh. He then walked back down the hill toward Wesley and Rose.

A communication from the Rogue Fantasy echoed in Melanie's ear, "How is he?"

"Why do you want to know?" Melanie replied to Siren's voice.

"I… I need to know."

"He's fine. Tired, but fine."

"What will he do about her?"

"You asked me that question last time and my answer is still the same." Melanie walked away from the sandy hill, turning her back toward Eric and the others. Sergeant Johnson, the Chief, Linda, and Kelly were boarding the Pelican. Mathew walked up to Melanie's side and they began to walk toward the pelican's hanging ramp. The exhaust from the bird kicked sand into the air as Marines scrambled around the tanks. Melanie stepped to the ramp, hiding her heavy eyes behind her reflective mask, and climbed into the belly of the pelican. "He'll tell her what she needs to hear, and then he'll leave her behind."

The chain gunner nodded as the two black ops Spartans passed by and Johnson walked toward them. "Where the hell is Raynord?"

Melanie turned to Johnson and pulled off her helmet, revealing dried tears, "He's coming. Just give him a second."

Johnson huffed, "We don't have time for this." He then walked out of the pelican and made long strides down the hill toward Eric.

- - - - - - - -

Eric stopped at the base of the rock and glared at Rose and Wesley, "You two okay?" They were shocked. Wesley fumbled with words and didn't know how to reply.

Rose suddenly blurted out, "We're fine, sir. It was my fault coming out here. I had to come and help..."

"You saved my life, Rose." Eric simply stated. His eyes deeply focused on hers. Rose suddenly lost herself in the moment and began to fidget nervously as she gazed into his reflective visor. It had been so long since he was nice to her or said anything kind in her direction. This was the Eric she remembered from school and at the ONI facility, and she was filling her mind with all of their happier times together. For that brief moment she didn't care about the war, what had happened in space or the events on the Elite home world, she only cared that Eric didn't see her as being useless.

"I'll go and help the others, Sergeant." Wesley softly stated, walking away from the two of them. He didn't want to interrupt and knew that he had no place. He began to push away the other marines that were lurking about, when he noticed Sergeant Johnson walking toward him. "Sergeant, anything I can do for you…" Johnson simply brushed past him, not breaking his walking stride.

Rose stepped closer to Eric, "Can you take off your helmet so I can see your face?" She smiled as she stopped only inches away from Eric's expansive chest. She looked up into his reflective mask, but Eric remained silent.

"Raynord!" Johnson shouted as he came closer. "What the hell are you …" Johnson gazed at the woman in front of Eric and smirked angrily. "You must be Roselyn Santos."

"Yeah, but how do you know my name?"

"Eric and I were bunk mates for a while." Johnson simply returned. "Eric, we have to go." Johnson gripped Eric's arm and tugged on him, attempting to pull him toward the pelican.

Eric gripped Roses shoulder, "Get into Camp Eden. It's the UNSC civilian fallout shelter. There's food, water and plenty of places for you to rest." Eric felt Johnson continue to pull at him and he let go of Rose. Eric could have easily resisted Johnson's pull, but he followed Johnson back up the hill. "Rose, when this is over I'll …" Eric paused as he walked backwards up the hill. Rose began to fallow, climbing the hill behind Eric and Johnson.

They reached the sandy road and Eric stopped as he neared the ramp; the roaring engine noise flooding into his helmet. "I might not make it back, but if I do … I'll look for you." Eric climbed into the back of the Pelican and Johnson fallowed suit, heading toward the pilot's seat. Melanie heard the words and she pulled her helmet on, sealing it.

Mathew watched as Melanie stood up, and he grabbed her by the arm, "Don't get involved." Melanie snatched her arm free from Mathew's loose grip and walked to the ramp. She grabbed Eric and pulled him away from Rose; onto the pelican loading ramp.

Melanie looked to Rose and then back to Eric, "We have a war to win." Eric was stunned at the sudden interference, and watched as Rose stepped away from the pelican Ramp.

Rose looked up at the two black ops Spartans standing before her, "I'll be waiting for both of you to come back." The last time they parted ways, she didn't have the chance to say goodbye or tell Eric how she felt. The memory of running across the university campus to find Eric swelled across her mind. She swallowed her pride and pushed past Melanie's earlier warnings of distracting Eric. She couldn't let Eric go, not again, not without telling him how she felt.

"Eric …" She paused, and the words seemed trapped in her throat. She lowered her head shyly and softly spoke, "… I love you."

Melanie nervously turned to Eric, "Sergeant, we need to go." She heard Rose's words and it stirred something inside of her, something she had long kept secret and hid from everyone. Her heart nearly missed a beat and she quickly became nervous. But foremost, she knew that Eric had to have a clear head about him. He couldn't be distracted with thoughts of Rose and hopes of living happily ever after. "We can't deal with this right now, Eric."

Eric could only gaze through his helmet visor and into his own reflection upon Melanie's face. He looked to Rose and could tell by her eyes that she was sincere in her words, but he had to focus and clear out all the thoughts in his head. Melanie was right; there wouldn't be a world for them to live in if the prophet of Truth wasn't stopped. He looked to Rose one last time, and she smiled softly in return.

At one time, he felt that Rose wasn't his type; she was all business, sharply dressed and determined to uphold her title as the leading engineer on the MJOLNIR project. But the new woman he was looking at was different, she had seen combat, been held captive and was finally beginning to understand what it meant to fight for what you believe in. Eric ran away from combat to be by her side, believing that he could protect her; knowing that he had to protect her from the closing Covenant threat. But the war changed Rose, and showed her who Eric Raynord was. She no longer wanted to keep him at a distance, and she no longer had Kim's wishes lingering over her head. She knew what she wanted, and so did Eric.

"Juggernaut, get this bird in the air." Eric stated firmly. He lifted his palm to Rose, giving her a soft wave goodbye, but then changed it to a thumb's up. Rose smiled as a single tear rolled down her face. She returned the wave and stepped further away from the ramp.

"Yes sir." The engines roared louder as the Pelican propelled itself into the sky. Rose covered her eyes to shield them from the sand that was dancing around her, and to dry the tears that were freely flowing down her face. The dust settled and they were gone, streaking into the sky toward the Rogue Fantasy. Rose folded her arms and began to walk the road back to Camp Eden's gate. It was going to be long walk, but she wasn't in a hurry. The walk would give her time to think and reflect on the future, but her silence was quickly interrupted as a warthog crept up beside her.

"Need a lift?" Wesley smiled. Rose nodded and climbed into the passenger's seat. Wesley sped away from the marines and tanks that lined the road and headed toward the gates of Camp Eden.

"So, what now?" Rose stated as the wind whipped through her hair.

"I'm … not sure, but I think you've repaid your debt ten fold."

They neared the gate and sped through the massive door. Marines and vehicles were stationed everywhere, as far as the eye could see and on both sides of the paved streets. The sandy roads were left behind and it was as if they had entered a major city. Camp Eden's above ground area reminded them of a small city. There were signs that pointed to an Airport and a shopping district. Wesley followed the signs and made his way toward the main camp's underground facilities.

There were several checkpoints ahead, but the guards waved them past, unconcerned. Wesley turned a curve and drove into a four lane tunnel, following the hanging traffic signs that guided them to the underground facility. Rose noticed that the tunnels massive doors were partially closed. Further into the tunnel they began to see rows of marines lining the walls with turret guns and jackhammers, clearly waiting to defend the camps underground structure if the Covenant broke through. Wesley couldn't help but think of the Elite Inner Sanctum, and how things bore a resemblance to it.

During the drive, Rose continued to reflect on what to do about Eric. Melanie warned her that Eric had to keep his mind clear of distractions, something that Rose understood fairly well, but she couldn't hold back her feelings. She had tried so hard to gain Eric's approval, his acceptance, and she finally felt a sense of peace knowing that Eric didn't see her as useless. Rose smiled at the thought that she had saved Eric's life, but a cold chill came over her. It was the form of chill that continued to grow as she began to realize that she may never see Eric again. Rose fought against the thought that Eric may die in battle, but she held on to a small sense of peace; she had told Eric goodbye and how she felt. Warmth quickly returned to her and pushed away the chill.

Eric had always been a major influence in her life, even when he wasn't around. When he left to join the military, he had left behind a world that was blinded by the UNSC; a power that humanity thought was capable of stopping the Covenant. Eric was right all along, the only thing he could do was to face the enemy head on and hope they would never find Earth. Humanity didn't have time to create the perfect weapon against the Covenant, but they did do something even better; humanity had created the Spartan's. And the man Rose loved, Black Ops Spartan 19, was leading them into combat. He was a man that knew combat and war, and while every UNSC Marine and ODST was praying that the Master Chief would save them, Rose looked to a different hero; a Hero named Eric Raynord.

After several miles of descending down the long tunnel, everything began to expand and the ceiling vanished into a massive openning. Miles underground, Wesley slammed on the brakes, forcing several vehicles behind him to swerve. He gazed into the monstrous cavern while horns rang out from the vehicles that began to go around them. Rose was also dumbfounded at the sight. They both climbed out of the hog as cars, vans and busses sped passed.

"No … no. This… this shouldn't be here." Rose nervously gasped. Together, Wesley and Rose peered into the grand expanse that lay before them. A cavern nearly identical to the elite Inner Sanctum was sitting before their eyes. The buildings were more modern then the elite Inner Sanctum and it was clear that they were using it as a base. With water ways, forests, wildlife and its own natural light source, it was if Rose and Wesley had somehow been transported back to Dorenth. The nostalgia from what they were seeing was overwhelming. The cavern was so large that they could not see to the other side, it was lost in the haze of the overhanging crystal formation that shined brightly over the city.

"What does this mean?" Wesley questioned. "I thought they said that Earth was seeded by the Ark, but this cave…"

Rose looked into the mammoth cavern, "The Ark rebuilt the Earth and made it habitable, but this …this looks like a Seed Installation."

"It is." A woman commented as she steeped out of an armored transport. "However, it is very old, much older then the Elite Inner Sanctum."

"Dr. Halsey." Rose shockingly stated as she looked over her shoulder.

Catherine Halsey stepped out of the transport, wearing handcuffs and two guards at her side, "It seems that the forerunners were here much early then humanity. We are on our way to the research center. The handcuffs are a bit over dramatic, but considering that I stole UNSC property, namely a Spartan, I can't blame them for being somewhat displeased with my return."

Another woman steeped out of the transport however she was not cuffed or guarded. "You two were with 19 and the others. I'm Doctor Smith, we met briefly onboard the Rogue Fantasy. Follow us, perhaps you can be some help."

"The rabbit hole keeps getting deeper." Rose thought aloud. The guards, Doctor Halsey and Smith climbed back into the transport and began to drive deeper into the city. Rose and Wesley followed closely behind.

- - - - - - -

Eric walked onto the command deck, with his helmet at his side and placed his hand on Captain Monroe's shoulder. Siren appeared on top of the holotank and smiled at Eric warmly. Eric smiled softly in return and they all looked through the forward view port. Ahead of them were dozens of UNSC cruisers, frigates, battle ships and carriers that were quickly speeding toward the Rally point. They were all hoping to arrive faster than the monstrous forerunners hip. The sky seemed to be a blaze as the forerunner ship continued to force its way into Earth's atmosphere, leaving a wake of smoke as it descended toward the ground.

Once again, Captain Megan Monroe looked to Eric for leadership, but he simply nodded his head toward her; squeezing her shoulder softly. She had always felt more comfortable with Eric around. His presence was reassuring and he had defended the ship countless times, but she had single handedly defended the Rogue Fantasy without his aid and know longer needed to lean on his strength. She exhaled softly and depressed the com controls on her command chair.

"Sergenat Johnson and Master Chief, we have the target in sight. The other ships in our fleet are headed for the Rally point. What's your plan of attack?"

The com returned, "Get us aboard that Forerunner ship. We'll do as much damage as we can before it makes land fall." The Master Chief calmly replied.

"What about those shields?" Monroe questioned.

"Let me worry about that." Came Cortana's reply. "Siren, I need you." The idea of working together with another AI was not something Cortana was looking forward to, but Siren was a Virus AI and breaking into systems was her specialty. Cortana was good, but their combined processing power would give them a sizeable advantage.

Siren smiled and faded from view, "Of course you do."

Captain Monroe placed her hand on top of Eric's and he squeezed her shoulder one last time. She felt that he was saying goodbye and she turned and looked at him as he pulled his hand away.

Eric sealed his helmet and walked off the bridge, "Good luck, Captain."

"The same to you, 19. Come back in one piece." Captain Monroe watched as Eric walked off the command deck. His armor was soaked in alien blood, plasma burns, and his own dried blood. He was a Spartan, a warrior created to fight, kill and be victorious in combat. She knew what he and the other Spartans were about to do would be suicide, but suicidal tactics was what he had been doing for years on board her ship. However, she couldn't escape the felling that this was his last mission, and that she would never see him alive again. The door to the command deck opened and Melanie and Mathew stood beyond. Their helmets were on, and weapons at the ready. Eric nodded toward them and they responded likewise. They then looked onto the command deck and Captain Monroe stood and gave them a firm salute. Eric returned the gesture as the door to the command deck closed.

Monroe returned to her chair, filled with a heaviness she had not felt since Kim 05 had died several months before. She ran her hand through her frizzled hair and fought the emotion to cry.

Her command crew looked at her as she gazed at the ever approaching forerunner ship, "Cortana, Siren … tell me what we need to do."

Cortana spoke directly, "Siren and I will take the helm. This may get a little bumpy as we get closer to the forerunner ship. Hang on."

The Rogue Fantasy climbed into orbit, racing toward the massive oncoming ship. All eyes within the fleet watched as the tiny stealth ship charged toward the forerunner ship. They all knew that the master chief was on board and they all knew that if anyone could slow down Truth's advance it would be him. But what most of the human fleet didn't know was that the Master Chief had an ace up his sleeve, something that the Prophet of Truth would never see coming.

The demon was about to hit Truth head on, and he was bringing the last of the Spartans with him.

_**The End.**_

Special thanks to the following:

My little brother.  
My sister: Thanks for being patient C-dub  
My roommate: Exploring the Halo mythology since summer 04

The Bnet community supporters:  
**Scorptank  
Limited Edition  
MrClark  
HaloXenon  
Highland Brute  
Col Pain****  
SpecOps Elite  
Guilty Mark VII  
MC Spartan 219  
Uberdawg  
Prowlaz**

… and to all ofyou; thank you for your support!

_Halo: If I Were Your Hero © Soulguard 2005  
Written and Created by SoulGuard  
Characters based on the characters from Halo, Halo 2  
Based on the Video Game Halo, Halo 2  
Halo© Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios  
Halo 2© Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios  
_


	29. Wrapup Q & A

**_IF I Were Your Hero: Wrap-up Q & A_**

Thanks for all of your support. You've been patient... and I wanted to wait at least three days.. so now, to answer "some" of your questions:

**A cliffhanger! **- Sorry gang, but things were going so well that I had to carry a "FEW" things over to the 3rd book. However, the major plot of the story was resolved.

**The plot conclusion **- It's not very clear unless you have a clear view of the story, meaning you've read it completely through without many interruptions. Here's a hint: Eric and Rose solving their own inner struggles (and not the "love" thing).

**What about the Mirratord? **- Come now, do you think I could ever forget about them. Don't worry, they aren't done... and yes, you'll find out what they are up to in the 3rd book.

**What will be the focus of Book 3? **- hmmmmm... the hunt for cheese. I can't say just yet.

**Will Palab get more focus in Book 3? **- You bet your butt he will.

**Where is the Ark? **- I don't know... maybe bungie will tell me in the next book so that I can add it.

**Why is there another Seed Installation under Camp Eden, if the Forerunners never seeded Earth? **- I never said they didn't seed Earth. I said that the Ark seeded the Earth "**after**" it's destruction. (when the second moon collided with Earth) Makes you think how old Humanity really is... and the connection between the Forerunners and Humanity. But no... I do not beleive/agree that humans are forerunners. If I'm wrong, I will work it into the story.

**When will we see the next book? **- Not sure yet. Halo 3 and book 4/5 have yet to be mentioned, but hopefully it will happen sometime in 2006. Until then I have some small things in store for you all. I will begin work on Book 3 after more of the Halo storyline is revealed. (either game or books).

**What is IIWYH Redux? **- Simple. I'm going to Edit "If I Were Your Hero" and work more grunty goodness into it. Why? Becuase when I began IIWYH I had no plans of doing a Trilogy. Since IIWYH is the second book, I want to give Palab and the Mirratord a LARGER role, and water down the Forerunner Empire theories. I will begin working on the Edit to "Stand, Five Feet High" (book 1) and IIWYH (Book 2) in January. When You read the two books you will be stunned at how NEW they will appear. You think you know everything about Palab, Etah, Simyaldee, Eric and Rose? Wait until you read it again... I trully plan to blow your minds. Not much will change, but it will be enough for you to enjoy it. Look for the edited version to be in PDF format and downloadable.. for free.

**So this is a Trilogy? When will the first book (Stand, Five Feet High) appear on FFnet? **- Soon. Once I clean it up and make it look all pretty and shiny for you all. Stand Five Feet High tells the story of Palab, the grunt messiah, and his rise into the elite ranks, something that Grunts aren't allowed to do. Want to know more about the Grunt King? Stand Five feet high is where it all began. Book 1 will be here on FFnetonce I began editing it, sometime in late January. It's my first fanfic and it really needs to be editied (you thought my grammer was bad in IIWYH) lol.

Got more questions... I can try to answer them. Leave your questions and comments. Just because my story is finished, doesn't mean I'm leaving Bnet or FFnet. Thanks again for coming by and for reading my stories. Your support is the reason why there WILL be a concluding book.

-soulguard


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